EBRD backs Burger King expansion in Romania and the region with EUR 40 mln

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, is set to invest EUR 40 million in the company behind the region’s Burger King franchise, the Polish holding company Rex Concepts.

The money will go toward supporting the chain's expansion by opening new quick-service restaurants in Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic.

Rex Concepts, backed by the Polish investment firm McWin, develops the Burger King and Popeyes brands in several Eastern European markets, including Romania. The announced investment would give the EBRD a 16.7% stake in Rex Concepts, according to Profit.ro.

The Burger King chain has recently sped up its expansion in the Romanian market and is opening a restaurant inside Mall Moldova. The first Burger King restaurant was inaugurated in Militari, Bucharest, in 2022. Several other locations opened since then.

McWin plans to open 600 restaurants in the region over the next decade, 200 of which will be Burger King restaurants in Poland alone. It also aims to expand the Burger King brand in other countries and to bring the Popeyes brand to the Czech Republic and Poland.

The announcements come a few months after McWin signed a master franchise agreement for Burger King in Poland, following the acquisition of the local Burger King SEE company.

McWin is led by Henry McGovern, founder of AmRest Holdings, and Steven K. Winegar, shareholder and executive director of Zena Group and founder of Restauravia Grupo Empresarial. AmRest, the largest multi-brand restaurant franchise operator in Europe, operates, among others, the KFC, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks chains.

(Photo source: cineberg | Dreamstime.com)