Burger King sells 94 Canadian restaurants

Burger King Worldwide Inc. has sold its Canadian subsidiary, consisting of 94 company-owned restaurants, to Redberry Investments Corp.

As a result of its acquisition of Burger King Restaurants of Canada, Quebec-based Redberry has become Burger King’s master franchisee in Canada, the company said in a statement. Redberry is privately owned and operated by three shareholders.

Burger King Worldwide chairman of North America Steve Wiborg said there is significant opportunity for quick-service growth in Canada. “I look forward to working with our master franchisee it helps expand our footprint across the country,” he said in a statement.

Redberry co-owner Andreas Kragaris said he was excited to add Burger King to his company’s portfolio. “With new brand initiatives…we look forward to playing a key role in the ongoing success of the brand in the region,” he said.

The agreement is part of Burger King’s global refranchising strategy. In April 2012, Burger King refranchised 96 company-owned locations in the Orlando and Daytona, Fla., markets, selling them to Magic Burgers LLC, a subsidiary of Sun Holdings LLC, owned by longtime franchisee Guillermo Perales. In October, Burger King refranchised 42 restaurants in the Atlanta area to GPS Hospitality.

As part of the Canadian acquisition agreement, Redberry agreed to put into place a new restaurant-opening program and a remodel strategy. The company will reimage its newly acquired restaurants to match Burger King’s Global 20/20 program during the next three years.

Miami-based Burger King Corp. has nearly 13,000 units, 97 percent of which are franchised.

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