Partner Article

A fork in the road for Little Chef?

Heston Blumenthal’s fancy cuisine, the expertise of business turnaround specialists Rcapital and even a sniff of interest from Dragon James Caan, haven’t quite managed to restore Little Chef to its former glory.

So, what makes Kuwait’s Kout Food Group think there’s life in the little chap yet? Current owners Rcapital say the network of roadside restaurants caters for at least six million a year - still a sizeable market.

Kout UK’s chairperson, Mrs. Fadwa Al Homaizi, promises Little Chef will be lead by “British values.” For a firm that handles the exclusive franchise for mega multinational brands in Kuwait, such as Burger King and Pizza Hut, the Little Chef challenge will be an entirely different beast for Kout to handle.

The UK’s motorway services are retail-richer than they have ever been, and Kout will face myriad competition from high street coffee multiples to Waitrose sandwiches.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .