Smashburger, one of the US’s fastest growing restaurant concepts, has announced the acquisition of a further five UK sites following the launch of the very first Smashburger restaurant at the Kingston Centre retail park in Milton Keynes this month.
The UK franchised company has now acquired further locations in Brighton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Bath and Wednesbury.
First to open will be the Brighton restaurant, taking over the previous two-floor, 2,666 sq ft Mucho Burrito site located on North Street in the popular Lanes area in July.
Two new openings are planned for Autumn in Newcastle and Bath. The Newcastle restaurant will open at the intu Eldon Square Shopping Centre, as part of the of the new dining quarter which forms part of the centre’s £25 million refurbishment. Smashburger Bath will launch in the City Centre on SouthGate street.
Smashburger’s first Scottish venture in the Sauchiehall Centre in Glasgow will open its doors at the end of the year whilst a fifth site has been secured at the Junction 9 Retail Park in Wednesbury in the West Midlands for an early 2017 opening.
Managing Director of the Smashburger franchise owner, Tim Lowther commented, 'There's a £2.8 billion burger market in the UK and we believe there’s massive room for growth for the right brand. The way we cook our burgers at Smashburger is unique and the result is a much better burger. We are confident consumers will taste the difference and are very excited to be opening a further five sites in the next 12 months. We are aiming for 35 over the next few years, creating up to 1400 new jobs.'
In the US, Smashburger has more than 300 stores and has teamed up with the MSG Group to act as the UK master franchisee.