Burger King announced last year that it planned to acquire over 1000 units from its largest franchise operator, Carrols Restaurant Group. This was a 1-billion-dollar transaction with the intent to remodel the locations, bring them up to current standards and then refranchise them. This is a brilliant move by one of the Big 3 hamburger chains. Having the franchisor take the lead with planned capital investment is the way it should be. This will increase the value of these locations when they refranchise them and allow the new operations team to focus on the operation.
Their new initiative, Reclaim the Flame, is their current marketing and remodeling program. It has been very successful for the brand and positioned them as the leader in the QSR industry sales trend. I feel that having a well-organized support staff in place to manage the physical plant really helps great operators drive sales within the system. Operators should be free to focus on the operation of the restaurant. They need to be able to depend on professionals in the real estate and construction industries to provide great service for the brand.
I believe Burger King is more than halfway done with the Carrols Restaurant Group remodels and has already begun refranchising. They are scheduled to be 85-90% completely remodeled by 2028. Having this volume of common projects gives Burger King a very powerful position in the construction services purchasing arena. I hope that they will take full advantage of their ability to separate the financial transaction from the project management function. It will serve them well on their P&L.
As a large volume buyer, we would love to work with Burger King to help them move into the driver’s seat and capture all of the cost savings possible.
Please read more about this acquisition and remodel details in the links below.
Burger King parent company to acquire Carrols Restaurant Group
Is Burger King’s Massive Remodel Plan Working? – QSR Magazine