Burger King suspends regional Amrest expansion in Romania

Burger King has halted its development through Amrest, its Polish franchisee. The development has been suspended in Romania and four other countries.

According to Romania Insider, Burger King will continue operating and keep its 93 stores in the region open but it will not be allowing Amrest to launch any new outlets in the region. It was reported that the said franchisee opened the first BK store in Romania just two and a half years ago and today, the fast-food chain already has a total of nine locations there.

The reason why Burger King is halting developments from Amrest as its agreement with the company is already expiring. It was mentioned that aside from BK, Amrest’s franchise deal with Starbucks in Romania is also ending next year.

But even if Amrest will not be able to build more Burger King stores, it will still be able to open the units it owns as long as the operations comply with the franchise agreements it signed with the burger brand.

"On Feb. 1, 2022, Burger King Europe Gmbh informed AmRest of the termination, starting with the same day, of the brand development agreements on the markets of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania,” Romania’s media outlet, Ziarul Financiar, quoted an AmRest official as saying in a statement.

He added, “We will continue to operate the 93 Burger King restaurants we own in these countries, in compliance with the franchise agreements signed, which will remain in force. Thus, the revenues, the operating profit - earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization - or EBITDA, and the assets of AmRest will not be significantly affected by this decision."

Meanwhile, Burger King Romania which is operated by AmRest celebrated its second year anniversary on the Romanian market in September last year. The first store was opened in Bucharest in 2019 and BK has continued to expand in the country since then.

AmRest also set up the first Burger King outlet in Brașov, which paved the way for national expansion. The Polish franchisee also expressed its intentions to open more branches across Romania, but it is not clear how this will be done, or perhaps, it is already working to sign a new deal with the fast-food chain to proceed with its plans.

“The opening of the first Burger King restaurant outside Bucharest, in Brașov, is just the first step in a nationwide expansion plan that we will continue to implement,” Business Review quoted Burger King Romania’s area manager, Adrian Popovici, as saying last year. After two years, local and national expansion is our priority.”