Owners and operators of

international restaurant chains

If you are a franchisor or a franchisee of an international brand, you certainly know how hard it is to deliver consistent sales growth while driving new store development. Whether you are looking at entering into new markets, driving performance in your existing stores, selling or restructuring your business, we can offer you a range of support services.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

1. Strategic advice

A successful business is always the result of a sound business strategy followed by strong execution. 

Your challenges:

  • Facing aggressive competition
  • Weakening store performance
  • Leadership team not driving results
  • Lack of solid business strategy

What we can do for you:

  • Organise strategic sessions with your management team
  • Work with your team to build a strategic plan and set goals for the different functions
  • Help you to build your 3-5 years business plan
  • Provide strategic and operational advice to your regular management meetings
  • Bring independent sector expertise to your Board or Supervisory Board meetings

Case studies:

  • We worked with a fast food brand operating in two EU countries, providing them with an independent SWOT analysis of their current operations, and helping them developing a suitable growth strategy for the business. The project was executed through market visits and discussion with the management team.
  • We led strategy sessions for a Canadian company, providing services to the restaurant sector, with a view of helping them to develop their 5 years growth strategy.
  • We carried out a market entry research assignment for a US social media company, specialized in the hospitality sector, to help them understand the UK restaurant and hotel market, the key players, the opportunities and the challenges. This allowed to launch the brand in the UK and secure opportunities with some of the key players identified.

2. New market entry and franchise partner search

Entering into a new market is a time consuming effort for any brands. Understanding the market dynamics, defining the appropriate development strategy and finding the right partners can be particularly challenging. In this context, we can leverage our knowledge of international markets and our network of contacts to help you achieve your development goals.

Your challenges:

  • Lack of market knowledge
  • Lack of local network
  • Unclear development strategy
  • Lack of resources

What we can do for you:

  • We can conduct a thorough market study to explain market dynamics and identify key industry players
  • Assist in developing a suitable development strategy and define the franchise candidate profile
  • Search for a suitable franchise partner within our international network of contacts
  • Facilitate the introduction to local partners and assist with the negotiation process

Case studies:

  • We have been mandated by many global franchise brands to search for new franchisees in various EU countries. The range of companies includes European and American brands across Casual Dine In, QSR and hospitality sectors. Some of the successful introductions that we have made include:
    • We have introduced a franchise partner for a country in Southern Europe to a well-know casual dining brand.
    • We have helped a reputable international coffee chain to find a suitable franchise candidate for Switzerland.
    • We have helped a US casual dining business to find suitable candidates for a number of European countries.

3. Business turnaround

Many brands are struggling to keep up with the foodservice competitive landscape and increasing consumer demands and expectations. Pulling together a successful turnaround plan often implies changing completely the company mindset and approach to revitalise the business. We can bring our independent advice to help you think through the various aspects of your plan.

Your challenges:

  • Declining sales
  • High costs structure and negative margins
  • Bad customer feedback
  • Poor operations
  • High staff turnover
  • Store closures

What we can do for you:

  • Detailed review of the business profit and loss to identify opportunities for improvement
  • Perform a detailed business review across all functions (operations, supply chain, marketing, HR, development)
  • Organise a strategic session with your leadership team to align and develop a turnaround action plan
  • Keep a supervisory eye on your business by attending regular management meetings or as part of your non executive board.

Case studies:

  • We have helped a UK multi-unit operator to restructure its operations whilst buyers were found for the business. The project granted the owners the time to find a suitable buyer and the business was subsequently sold to an independent group.
  • We have assisted a multi-brand operator in Central Europe to drastically improve its business performance. The business moved from declining sales and margin to double-digit sales growth, new unit openings and significant improvement across all operating metrics. The organisational talent was improved and global best practices were established around operating KPIs. The business is now established as one of the top 10 brands in the country.

4. M&A Support

Whether you are looking at acquiring a new business or selling or restructuring your own business, we can bring our in-house M&A expertise to help you achieve your goals.

Your challenges:

  • You are interested in growing your business through an acquisition
  • You need to assess the purchase price of a targeted business
  • You want to assess the status of the targeted company, identify the operational weaknesses, business strengths and opportunities.
  • You want to validate the sale price of your own company

How we can help you:

  • We can help you identify opportunities available in the market and introduce you to the counterpart
  • We can conduct an operational and financial due diligence of the targeted business
  • We can perform a business valuation to help you assess the transaction price
  • We can support you in the negotiation process with the counterpart and in the integration process of the acquired business
  • Post transaction, we can monitor the acquired business and report to the investors (either as external consultants or as non-executive board members)
  • We can perform a valuation to help you estimate the fair market price of your own business
  • We can help in finding an interested buyer for your business

Case studies:

  • We estimated the fair market value of a multi unit pizza business in a EU country to support the bid to acquire the target company.
  • We have conducted the operational due diligence for foodservice businesses in the Middle East and West Africa in the context of potential acquisitions. The due diligence involved visiting a sample of stores and providing with management reports summarizing our findings and post acquisition opportunities.

5. Reporting and performance management (KPIs)

“What gets measured gets done”. To run a successful restaurant business you need to have quality information on your business performance and most importantly, you need to be able to reward the team based on the delivered performance.

Your challenges:

  • Your management reports are too complex and difficult to read
  • There is no bonus structure in place at store level
  • The leadership team is not driving the desired results

How we can help you:

  • Recommend appropriate presentation structure for your restaurant P&L and management reports
  • Assist you to determine the right KPIs for your business
  • Develop a balanced scorecard tailored to your restaurant business
  • Help you with the set-up and implementation of a management reporting system and the related processes
  • Work with your HR leader to structure an appropriate bonus system for the restaurant managers and the leadership team

Case studies:

  • We restructured and simplified the monthly management reports of a fast food business in Central Europe. The project involved coaching the CFO on standard restaurant reporting and build the monthly financial information pack for the management team and the investors.
  • We helped a fast food chain in Eastern Europe to introduce a performance based remuneration system for store and above store teams. The project involved working with the management team and the HR Director to determine the relevant KPIs for the business and the right formula to link them to the bonus structure.

6. Recruitment

Finding good quality people is key to any successful business. We have an extensive international network in the foodservice sector and we can help you address your recruitment needs for your senior team.

Your challenges:

  • One or several of your key functional resources have left the business
  • You need time to find a suitable replacement
  • You are uncertain as to the right profile for the role

How we can help you:

  • We can discuss with you and help you assess the right profile for the role
  • We can explore within our international network if a suitable candidate is available and interested in the role
  • We can interview the short list of candidates and provide you with our thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual

Case studies:

  •  We have worked with headhunters, recruitment firms as well as directly with various companies looking for organisational talent. Some of the positions successfully secured include the CEO for a National QSR brand operating in the UK, a CEO found in South Africa for a QSR brand operating in West Africa, a CEO for a QSR brand operating in Eurasia. Working directly with a recruitment firm, we helped to secure the placement of a COO in the same region. We have also successfully sourced marketing positions including CMO, Social Media and Brand Managers, as well as other functional positions in HR, Supply Chain, Operations and Development. 

7. Part time CEO/CFO on demand

If you are experiencing turnover in your key leadership team members, our senior executives can cover your temporary vacancies.

Your challenges:

  • Your CEO or CFO have left the business
  • You need time to find suitable replacements
  • The business cannot afford long vacancies in the key roles

How we can help you:

  • We can quickly step in as CEO or CFO for your business for the short/medium term and until you find suitable replacements
  • Once replacements has been found, we can organize a smooth transition plan to allow the new resources to quickly step in into the role
  • After the transition, we can keep monitoring your business as non executive members of your board.

Case studies:

  • Seconded as CEO for a multi-brand food service business in Central Europe in order to address performance and drive new store development in the business. The results have been outstanding and the business is enjoying significant growth.

8. Non-executive board membership

Having an external and independent view on your business is extremely valuable to ensure you are constantly challenging the status quo and can validate your strategy and business ideas with sector experts.

Your challenges:

  • You need to revitalise your business strategy
  • Your team is comfortable with the status quo
  • You are about to implement significant changes and want to minimise risk of failure
  • You want to validate your business strategy with business experts

How we can help you:

  • We can enter into your board as a non executive member, help you guide your business bringing our independent view and sector expertise
  • We can help you validate your business strategy
  • We can challenge your board and leadership team

Case studies:

  • Following a due diligence work completed on a fast food chain in West Africa, we continued to offer insight and independent advice to the business as a non executive member of the Board of Directors.
  • Having supported the launch of an international burger chain in Eastern Europe, we were appointed as a non-executive member of the Board of Directors.

YOUR PROFILE