‘Resilient’ sales at Burger King UK amid new restaurant openings

Burger King UK has said it witnessed “resilient” sales over the first half of 2024 amid a boost from new restaurant openings.

It came as the fast-food business, which operates 561 restaurants in the UK, revealed it returned to profit last year in freshly filed accounts.

The hospitality firm’s boss Alasdair Murdoch said it has seen “strong” recent trading on the back of positive demand for its “affordable food”.

“We have seen a resilient trading performance in the first half of 2024, with total sales growth of 5% split equally between the existing estate and contribution from new site openings,” he said.

Bosses said the group, which currently employs about 6,000 people, aims to continue to grow with a “robust” pipeline of new restaurant sites.

It came as Burger King UK reported total revenues jumped by 30% to £381.8 million in 2023, compared with the previous year.

The chain was boosted by the opening of 18 new owned restaurants and the integration of 74 sites snapped up from franchisee Karali group in September 2022.

Burger King UK added that like-for-like sales grew by 3% last year.

Meanwhile, the business also swung to an operating profit of £13.4 million for the year, from a £20.7 million loss in 2022, as it was supported by higher revenues and cost management.

Mr Murdoch, chief executive officer of Burger King UK, said: “I am pleased to announce a strong full-year performance and significant strategic progress in 2023.

“Our revenue performance and improvement in operating profit reflects the strength of our brand and the continued demand for our high-quality, affordable food offering.

“Looking ahead, we are excited about our ambitious expansion plans and the continued growth of our digital and delivery services, supported by good cost management and a robust pipeline of new openings.”