The French burger chain Big Fernand has debuted in London less than a month after opening its first international location in Hong Kong. Big Fernand, which would be classified as a “better burger” concept in the U.S., serves a homemade version of what it calls un hamburgé. With the May opening of an outlet in…

Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest QSR chain in the Philippines, will open its first Jollibee store in Canada this year. Jollibee CFO Ysmael Baysa said the company expects to launch first in Toronto. The chain also plans to add more stores in the Middle East and open its first units in Japan and some parts…

The two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo will have more pizza options by the end of the year. Borneo Oil Bhd, the master licensee for the takeaway pizza chain Pezzo in Sabah and Sarawak, expects to open at least 15 Pezzo kiosks in Sabah and Sarawak by December. The Singapore-based chain has more…

The Guatemalan chicken chain, already operating in a dozen countries, is seeing strong sales in Texas and will expand its footprint from two to five stores in Houston, which has the third largest Latino population in the U.S. More than a third of the city’s metro-area population is Latino, and 13% of those are Central…

The owner of a Bulgarian QSR chain, Aladin Foods, says the chain will open its first store in Romania. Khaled Kharfan says his chain’s expansion program will kick off in Bucharest with three other towns to follow, including the border city of Giurgiu. Two new restaurants will be opened in Romania in partnership with the Kaufland chain of stores.…

Private-equity houses Abraaj Group and TPG Capital have signed a deal to buy a majority stake in Kudu, the Saudi Arabian QSR chain. Kudu, a family-owned company established in 1988, is the largest QSR chain in the kingdom, with more than 200 outlets. Famous for its burgers and breakfasts, the Riyadh-based chain is estimated to…

Wendy’s is about to make a big impression on the Middle East and North Africa. Kuwait-based Alghanim Industries has acquired the rights to develop the U.S. burger chain’s restaurants across the MENA region from Saudi-based Alamar Foods, a company owned by Al Jammaz Group and Carlyle Group. The company did not disclose the value of…

T&S Brass and Bronze Works has opened a new Shanghai production and distribution facility located at No. 43 Jinwen Road, Zhuqiao Town, Pudong New District, Shanghai. “We literally outgrew our current space,” says Pat Cotter, General Manager of the Shanghai operation. “Our manufacturing and office areas were too small in the WGQ Free Trade Zone,…

In our January issue of Worldwide Report, we reported that Britain’s Las Iguanas planned to open 100 units across its home country. Now it appears that the Latin-themed chain, which has 39 restaurants across England, Scotland and Wales, is looking for new owners. Las Iguanas’ private-equity owners at Bowmark Capital hired advisers last year to run a…