German Doner Kebab set to open 12 new restaurants in the UK by the end of 2020

The fast-casual brand has forged ahead with its growth plans during the pandemic, bringing almost 500 new jobs and confirming its position as the UK’s fastest growing restaurant chain

German Doner Kebab has confirmed its position as the UK’s fast-casual brand of the future after announcing that it will have opened 12 new restaurants by the end of the year.

The fast-casual brand currently has 47 restaurants throughout the country as it continues its mission of bringing the GDK experience to more cities throughout the UK. The ambitious growth plans will bring in the region of 480 new jobs throughout the country. Key new locations in the expansion will include Liverpool, Nottingham, Bradford, Plymouth and additional sites in London and Edinburgh.

The gourmet kebab chain has also announced a significant rise in same-store sales in August following its participation in the government’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme, up 46 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales for August were also up 139 per cent on August 2019.

Now employing over 1500 people throughout the country, the brand has opened 35 new restaurants in the UK during the past three years and boasts a development pipeline of 350 franchise units over the next seven years.

Imran Sayeed, CEO, has heralded the growth plans as the brand continues to disrupt the fast-casual space and evolve to meet the needs of its customers. He said: “Our game-changing kebabs are revolutionising the kebab and we are excited to be announcing these latest growth plans.

“We have found ourselves in very challenging times, however, there continues to be a huge demand for the German Doner Kebab experience throughout the UK and our international growth regions. We are excited to build further momentum in our plans for growth and to be creating hundreds of new jobs throughout the country as we maintain our mission of building the fast-casual brand of the future.”

German Doner Kebab has been agile and responsive to a fast-changing landscape during the pandemic, initially remaining open for delivery and Click & Collect, before re-opening its dine-in offering to participate in the UK government’s Eat Out to Help Out Scheme.

The chain also partnered with Deliveroo to make 30,000 free meals available to frontline NHS workers and vulnerable people throughout lockdown.

There has been further innovation through the launch of the Boss Box as the brand continues to bring new products that excite and capture the imagination of its loyal customers. Conceived during lockdown initially for delivery and Click & Collect, the Boss Box is proving to be a huge hit with customers and is now available for takeaway and dine-in.

Sayeed continued: “We have been incredibly agile and responsive to a fast-changing landscape during the pandemic. We have always been primarily positioned as a dine-in consumer proposition, providing a new experience that appeals to a new generation of customers, who are attracted to our modern environment, healthy great-tasting food, and quick serving times.

“However, in line with the UK government’s guidance during lockdown, we quickly re-modelled our offering to expand our click and collect takeaway and have had a huge response to our participation in the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme which has reflected in our sales performance during August.

“Our recent performance is a testament to our wider strategy of product innovation, the ingenuity and speed of our operational team and the support we have had from our partners. It’s certainly exciting times at German Doner Kebab, we are truly transforming the fast-casual dining scene through our game-changing kebabs and we are now perfectly positioned to expand our footprint and reach more consumers across the UK and our international growth regions.”

Based in Glasgow, Scotland, the brand is growing at a great pace with 70 restaurants in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, and now rapidly expanding in the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia and Ireland.