Massive interest to buy KFC franchise
Isaac Pinielo | Thursday June 9, 2016 18:00
According to the liquidator, Nigel Dixon-Warren the number of bidders, which is a mix of individuals and companies, might be reduced when the sale price of the franchise is revealed next week.
“I’m getting many phone calls and emails from many people who are interested in buying and so far I have about 15 groups of people,” he explained.
He, however, indicated that he has not yet made an assessment of how much the company is worth.
The liquidator also said he will start dealing with the interested parties next week when he has sorted out all the restaurants and when they are fully operational.
“At the moment, I am still busy trying to get the restaurants running properly. I am not thinking much about how much the company is worth, but I am going to be doing that work before I get into negotiations with the bidders. I think the bidders will become less once they understand how much it (KFC) is going to cost,” Dixon-Warren added.
He explained that the sale of the franchise is only for those that want to buy the whole franchise with all the 12 restaurants, and not for the ones wanting to buy single stores or part of the franchise.
Previously, when the former owners, VPB Propco intended to sell the local KFC franchise it was said to be worth P60 million. The company was meant to be sold together with all its assets to a South African firm, but the sale did not materialise.
Last week, Anthony Siwawa, owner of VPB Propco told journalists that they had failed to find a buyer for the franchise, which led to the sale not taking place.
“We were looking to sell the business in a bid to ensure it remained operational where there was no strong business sense for us to continue managing it,” he said.
He explained that they decided to close the local KFC outlets due to a number of factors, chief of which is the end of the franchise agreement, and the acceptance that it no longer makes business sense to continue operations.
He added that they took over the business that was troubled in 2010 and that it had not grown ever since.
The closure of KFC would mean that 400 employees across the country would lose their jobs.
Dixon-Warren had earlier told this publication that VPB Propco decided to close the local KFC fast food operations because they had run out of supplies.
He also indicated that all efforts are being made to keep the business open with support from KFC Africa.