Subway Restaurants look to sell

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The popular American sandwich chain announced last week that its shareholders were exploring a sale of Subway but gave no details of a possible timeline.

It’s been speculated that increasing competition and rising cost have led to the move by shareholders to explore the sale of Subway.

A sale of the company could value it at more than $10bn (£8.2bn), according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story.

Investment banking giant JP Morgan is advising Subway on the potential sale.

Subway was founded by 17-year-old Fred DeLuca and family friend Peter Buck in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1965.

Originally named Pete's Super Submarines, it settled on the Subway name in 1972, and is still owned by its founding families over six decades later.

Subway was the fastest growing franchise in the world in 2015 and now has almost 37,000 global restaurants. Its first UK site opened in Brighton in 1996 and it now has more than 2,000 locations in the UK alone.

"The company does not intend to make any further public comment regarding the process until it has been completed," Subway said in a statement.

"The management team remains committed to the future and will continue to execute against its multi-year transformation journey, which includes a focus on menu innovation, modernization of restaurants and improvements to its overall guest experience."

Subway said it exceeded global sales projections in 2022 with eight consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth.

Across the world, Subway has developed 37,000 restaurants across 100 different countries, which makes it one of the largest restaurant chains across the globe. 

According to Subway's website, as of February 2023, there were around 2,300 Subway locations in the UK with over 1,800 in England, 202 in Scotland, 107 in Wales and 99 in Northern Ireland.

Author

Adam Braksator

Journalist