Popeyes - TDR Capital

Popeyes is one of the world’s most recognised QSR brands, famous for its Louisiana style fried chicken and the brand’s signature chicken sandwich. The company was founded over 50 years ago in New Orleans and has been often regarded as ‘the most loved chicken brand’ for its quality and differentiated offering.

Historically only operating in North America and select locations, the company has been recently expanding its global presence with entry into the UK and France respectively in 2021 and 2023. The company has more than 4,000 restaurant locations in total across over 30 countries, with the majority of these operating under a franchise model.

Transaction

On the back of our significant experience investing in multi-site consumer businesses and given our existing investment in the #1 casual dining brand in France, Buffalo Grill, we were very well placed to take and operate the master franchise for Popeyes when Restaurant Brands International were seeking a partner to launch the brand in France. We were attracted by the strength of the brand, distinctiveness of the product and the strong long-term growth dynamics of the chicken focused QSR market. Following the successful launch of Popeyes in France, in February 2023, TDR were introduced to the shareholders of the Popeyes UK master franchise and following bilateral negotiations, we acquired majority ownership in the business in December 2023.