American fast food group Burger King resumed its expansion in Romania, but with another franchisee, after it interrupted the agreement on the markets of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania with the Polish group AmRest at the beginning of 2022.

The new partner is the company McWin Partners, founded by Henry McGovern, the founder and former CEO of AmRest, according to Ziarul Financiar daily, quoting sources familiar with the development. Henry McGovern could not be reached for details.

The German media recently wrote that McWin Partners is an investment fund with a focus on restaurants, the entity being created by McGovern together with Steven Winegar. The fund has the support of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) and has over EUR 1 bln to invest.

McGovern stepped down as CEO of AmRest in 2019, according to Reuters, after more than 25 years in office. He is also the one who founded the company.

Today, the Polish group AmRest is one of the major players in the European HoReCa industry, with almost 2,400 restaurants and cafes both operated in a franchise system under brands such as Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King, as well as under its own brands. The group founded in 1993 by McGovern was listed in Warsaw in 2005, then in Madrid in 2018.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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