Karali Group has acquired 46 branches of Taco Bell in a pre-pack administration from Caskade Group.
It follows news that Adil Group has acquired 40 branches of KFC from Caskade Group, administrator Begbies Traynor confirmed.
Joint administrators Kirstie Provan, Gary Shankland and Robert Ferne of Begbies Traynor, working with Anthony Wright of FRP Advisory, secured the sale of T Bello Group Ltd and T Bello UK Ltd (TBG) to Karali.
Karali Group is described as a family-owned business with over four decades of experience in the quick services restaurants and hospitality space.
The company previously operated 74 Burger King restaurants, before selling to master franchise business BKUK in 2022. More recently, Karali acquired Crosstown Doughnuts in a pre-pack administration.
Karali did not acquire Caskade’s Taco entire Bell portfolio, with five branches permanently closed, in Leatherhead, Dartford High Street, Junction 11, Tunbridge Wells, and Basingstoke.
In terms of the KFC / Adil Group deal, joint administrators Kirstie Provan, Gary Shankland and Robert Ferne of Begbies Traynor with Anthony Wright of FRP Advisory, secured the sale of Caskade Caterers Limited, Castlebarn Limited, Caskade 2020 Limited and Grovemaze Limited, through a pre-packaged administration process, retaining over 900 staff.
A spokesperson for Begbies Traynor said: “The sale to the new owners is a positive outcome for the majority of branches and employees within the portfolio. Adil Group has been a successful KFC franchisee for more than 20 years, currently operates 73 KFC restaurants across the UK, and will provide the former Caskade KFC branches with a sound financial footing for the future.”
Thirteen KFC sites were not included as part of the deal and have now closed.
These are Fleet Street, St Mary Street, Maidstone The Mall, Uckfield, New Milton, Christchurch, Leatherhead, Downham, Boscombe, Crayford Way – Bournemouth, Dover, Market Square, Hove – Blatchington Road.
A spokesperson for KFC UK & Ireland said: “With its track record and ambitions for sustainable growth, we believe existing KFC franchisee Adil Group is the right long-term partner to take on Caskade’s KFC business. We look forward to continue working with Adil Group to serve up the nation’s favourite fried chicken and unlock value for our people and the communities we operate in.”
Adil Group has been a KFC franchisee since 2004, when it acquired 11 restaurants from an existing franchisee. Today, it operates 73 KFC restaurants across the UK.
The UK and Ireland is one of KFC’s strongest international markets, with revenues now close to £2bn.
Since 2018, KFC has opened 200 new restaurants across the UK and Ireland and our ambition is to open a further 500 restaurants across the UK&I by 2030.
It is understood Caskade had been experiencing challenges for some time.
