German Doner Kebab to open first restaurant in Portsmouth

German Doner Kebab is expanding into the city as part of plans to open 78 new sites in 2022.

According to Google, the restaurant will be located in Commercial Road and will open ‘in February’.

The kebab chain says that the expansion plans, which includes opening up in Portsmouth, will create almost 3,000 jobs.

German Doner Kebab continues to shrug off the challenging environment currently facing the casual dining sector.

It comes after the fast-casual chain opened 39 restaurants last year despite pandemic disruption.

As well as Portsmouth, German Doner Kebab plans to take the brand to Leeds, Brighton, Great Yarmouth, Aberdeen, Stoke and include additional sites in London and Glasgow.

Last year, the group reported a 75 per cent jump in total sales as it was buoyed by trade from new sites.

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German Doner Kebab also reported a 27 per cent in same store sales in 2021 compared with the previous year.

Imran Sayeed, chief executive officer for the brand, said: ‘We have been extremely agile during the Pandemic, listening to the needs of our customers and responding to the huge demand for our game-changing kebabs.

‘This has enabled us to build greater levels of brand awareness and customer loyalty as we bring the German Doner Kebab experience to more cities and towns throughout the UK.’

The Glasgow-based business currently employs around 3,500 over the UK and plans to add another 2,900 workers this year.

The chain also highlighted a development pipeline of 350 sites it hopes to open over the next seven years.

It also operates over 80 restaurants elsewhere across the world, with the firm also planning a further 11 North American openings in 2022 as well as its first site in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Sayeed added: ‘We have developed strong franchise relationships in strategic global locations and we are now working closely with our partners to take forward development plans and expand our reach into new regions.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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