Wingstop’s UK business looks to sell

Lemon Pepper Holdings, the master franchisee of Wingstop UK, has hired asset manager Goldman Sachs to arrange a sale of the business, according to Sky News.

The report cited City sources as claiming the sale was initiated “in response to unsolicited expressions of interest from potential buyers”.

It said Goldman Sachs is understood to have begun issuing information about Wingstop UK to third parties in the last couple of weeks.

Lemon Pepper Holdings declined to comment on the prospect of a sale.

Wingstop was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1994 and now operates and franchises more than 1,500 locations worldwide.

The chicken chain entered into a 100-restaurant agreement with Lemon Pepper Holdings in 2017 as the sole franchisee for the UK market. The franchisee was founded by Saul Lewin, Tom Grogan, Herman Sahota and Paddy Bamford.

Wingstop UK currently operates 49 sites in the UK, including delivery outlets, and employs more than 1,600 people.

The brand’s first UK restaurant opened on London’s Cambridge Circus in 2018.

In 2021 Wingstop became a minority investor in the UK business operated by Lemon Pepper Holdings, which helped to drive further expansion across the country. The following year the UK franchisee secured a multi-million-pound debt facility to fund more growth.

At the beginning of 2024 the brand confirmed nine new locations will open this year, with a further six locations under negotiation. The latest additions will create more than 750 additional jobs.