KFC to invest £1.5 billion to become “Fastest growing restaurant brand"

KFC says it will invest £1.49bn and create more than 7,000 new jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next five years.

The investment forms part of KFC UK&l's future growth strategy, which includes the ambition to become the fastest growing restaurant brand for the next generation, with plans to open a further 500 restaurants over the next decade.

Of the £1.49bn investment, £466m will go towards opening new restaurants across the UK and Ireland focusing on building flagship sites and drive-thrus in key locations such as Ireland and northwest England, where it says there is strong potential for growth.

Part will also be spent on upgrading more than 200 existing KFC restaurants, some 20% of the KFC estate, with a new design and the latest digital technology.

In addition, £404m will be spent on strengthening KFC's relationships with its suppliers, with chicken supplier Pilgrim's Europe, Buckinghamshire-based McCormick, which makes its gravy, Nature's Way, which grows salads at farms in Chichester, and software company Fourth all set to benefit from KFC's growth and investment, it says.

The group, which is celebrating 60 years on these shores since it first opened in Preston in 1965, will spend £583m on creating more than 7,000 new jobs across its supply chain over the next five years.

It says its investment will contribute a further £169m of direct gross value added to the UK economy over the next five years, through building new restaurants, hiring more people, spending more with UK suppliers, and increasing the earning and spending potential of its employees and partners.

''We've been serving customers in the UK for 60 years now, but we've never seen such strong demand for freshly prepared, fried chicken as we're seeing today," says Rob Swain, general manager of KFC UK & Ireland. ''As the market leader and a near-£2bn revenue business, we're incredibly well positioned to unlock this opportunity.”