Media Release:

Wednesday 13 May, 2009

Hell Boys back as Burger King plans for future growth

It’s back to the future as Tasman Pacific Foods Group (master franchisees of Burger King in New Zealand), announced today it was selling the HELL brand back to founding partners Warren Powell, Callum Davies and Stu McMullin.

In 2006 the Hell-boys sold the New Zealand master Franchise rights to TPF Group and set out to conquer the world. Now, with six stores in Brisbane (nine more opening this year), a pilot store in Fulham, London, and the first Irish store which opened in Dublin last week, that conquest has provided the finance to buy their baby back.

For Tasman Pacific Foods (TPF), the decision to sell is part of their broader growth strategy for the expansion of its Burger King network to over 100 restaurants in New Zealand.

“With the sale of HELL we are well on track to achieve this goal,” says TPF Managing Director, Dennis Jones.

Both TPF and HSL agree that the initial sale of HELL to TPF in 2006 was right for both parties at the time.

Warren Powell speaking on behalf of the new owners said “It’s no secret that TPF has been looking for investors to develop growth opportunities for its business and we saw this as a great time to approach them so we can focus on the home market for Hell.”

Both organisations say the timing is again in their favour. “Sales across all Burger King restaurants have been going from strength to strength,” says Dennis Jones. “In fact the past 12 months have been the best we’ve had. While growth is being experienced across the fast-food industry, the sale of HELL enables us to put everything into the continued expansion of Burger King. We’ve enjoyed the opportunity to make great quality pizzas, and it’s good to see the brand go back to where its story first started.

Speaking to the future, Stu McMullin says “The major focus over the next 12 months for HELL in New Zealand will be to take our international learning and deliver hard on quality, innovation, product development and our trademark cult marketing activity.”

Ends.

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There seemed to be three main components to John Key’s speech:

a) tax cuts largely paid for by a hike in GST
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After all, corporate welfare is always such a blessed thing – its only social welfare that corrodes enterprise and ambition. More>>