About us

A System Written Down Before It Was Sold

We operated eleven of our own restaurants for six years before offering a single franchise, and the whole system — recipes, equipment list, staffing model, opening procedure, cleaning schedule, ordering matrix and the financial model behind them — was documented from those units rather than written for a brochure. The first franchisees were two of our own managers, which is a reasonable test of whether a system is honest: people who have seen the accounts do not buy a business that only works on paper.

The format is deliberately narrow. A unit is between one hundred and eighty and three hundred square metres on a trunk road or motorway service position, with parking for at least forty cars and, where possible, lorry access. It seats between sixty and ninety with a drive-through where the site permits one. The menu is fourteen items built around fried and rotisserie chicken, and it does not expand at the request of individual franchisees, because a fifteenth item slows every kitchen in the network.

What we sell is a working business rather than a brand licence. The fee covers the territory, the build specification, the equipment package at negotiated prices, four weeks of training, an opening team on site for the first ten days, supply agreements, the management system and continuing support. What it does not cover is the property, and we say plainly that a franchisee who cannot secure a good site should not sign, whatever their enthusiasm.