Famous Brands seemingly can’t stand the heat of Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Famous Brands’s woes in the UK are not abating. The South African owner of Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) reported rising losses for the British chain for a five-month period through July 29 — leading some analysts to speculate that the company may have had enough. GBK is "the septic wart on the overall business and should be cut out", said Anthony Clark, an analyst at Vunani Securities. "They may consider exiting the market as it’s not getting any better." Famous Brands ventured out of its South African heartland with the GBK deal in 2016 — shortly after the UK voted to leave the EU. But the chain of about 100 restaurants has not delivered the desired returns, with a sales decline in the most recent reporting period jarring with rising revenue in the company’s home market, where it owns popular outlets such as Debonairs Pizza, Steers burgers and the upmarket Tashas chain. GBK is losing market share to other UK premium-burger chains — there are more than 400 in the country — at the sa...
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