Subway has signed five new multi-unit owner agreements across Arizona, the mid-Atlantic, Florida and Texas, the company announced Monday.
The Milford, Conn.-based company, which has added dual headquarters in Miami, said the five new agreements are with new and existing Subway multi-unit owners and results in in more than 230 existing restaurants being consolidated and transferred thus far in 2023.
All the agreements include commitments to remodel restaurants and strategically open new units, part of the brand’s North America growth strategy, the company said.
“A key element of Subway’s multi-year transformation journey is attracting multi-unit owners with the vision, resources, operating expertise and passion for the Subway brand,” said Trevor Haynes, president of Subway North America, in a statement. “All five multi-unit agreements are an excellent representation of the brand’s smart growth strategy coming to life and demonstrate the confidence operators have in our brand and future.”
In February, privately owned Subway confirmed that it was putting itself up for bids, with the target of about $10 billion, a process that company insiders last week said was proceeding as planned.
The company said two of the new domestic agreements are with restaurant operators who have experience in other quick-service brands. In addition, existing multi-unit owners continued to invest in the brand, including one that acquired more than 100 existing restaurants, expanding its portfolio to more than 140 locations, the company noted.
“Subway is an iconic brand that has undeniably refreshed every part of its business over the past few years with the introduction of new menu items, unique guest experiences and operational enhancements,” said Timothy Foley, managing partner and founder of Durham, N.C.-based EYAS Capital, one of Subway’s new multi-unit owners.
Subway noted that it is focused on “smart growth” to boost franchisee profitability and protect the brand’s position in the market. This includes efforts to strategically open new locations, with a goal of increasing new openings across North America by about 35% in 2023 versus 2022.
The brand is also modernizing its image through relocations and remodels, the company said. This year, an additional 3,600 locations across North America are expected to be remodeled, taking the total number of restaurants in the current Subway image to more than 10,000 by the summer.
Internationally, Subway said it opened nearly 750 new restaurants in 2022, and an additional 145 new restaurants in the first quarter of 2023.
Subway has nearly 37,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless