Sphera Franchise Group opens new KFC drive-thru restaurant in Romania

BUCHAREST (Romania), October 28 (SeeNews) - Romania’s Sphera Franchise Group [BSE:SFG], the holding company that owns the business which operates the local KFC franchise, announced the opening of a drive-thru restaurant in the western city of Timisoara.

Located in the Funshop Retail Park, the venue is Timisoara’s fourth KFC restaurant and its first KFC drive-thru unit, Sphera Franchise Group announced in a press release on Thursday.

The 390 sq m restaurant features a 50 sq m terrace and employs 50.

"The expansion of the KFC network with one more drive-thru restaurant is a new achievement, as locations of this type are a priority in our expansion strategy," Marian Gogu, general manager of KFC Romania stated.

KFC entered the Romanian market in 1997 and currently operated 95 restaurants in 37 cities.

Sphera Franchise Group operates 175 restaurants within a brand portfolio that includes KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, a PHD subfranchise, and one Paul restaurant in Romania. The holding also operates several KFC units in Moldova and Italy.

Sphera Franchise Group tallied 139 employees in 2021 and booked a net profit of 29.8 million lei ($6.04 million/6.07 million euro).

Blue-chip Sphera Franchise Group shares traded 2.42% higher at 12.7 lei as of 1450 CET on Friday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

(1 euro=4.9128 lei)