Red Hot World Buffet wants 80 sites

Red Hot World Buffet has just opened what it claims is the biggest buffet restaurant in Europe in Manchester—profiled in the latest issue of Peach Report. It is the chain’s sixth opening, and it has plans to open another site in Cardiff in August while contracts are being finalized for further restaurants in Leicester and Nottingham, with both due to open by the end of the year.

Red Hot World Buffet corporate director Parmjit Dhaliwal said private equity firms had been making approaches to the company. “We seem to be ticking all the boxes and as far as return on capital is concerned we’re probably providing the highest at the moment. They want to invest in our concept and add 18 sites in the next three years, taking us up to 25 sites. Overall we’re potentially looking at putting up 75-80 sites nationwide.”

RHWB will only consider sites that can turnover at least £5m a year, Dhaliwal said. “Once we’ve expanded in the north and Midlands we’ll look to do a nice site in the south. We won’t be looking at central London at first though; the first restaurants will be within the M25 corridor.” The economic climate made RHWB’s all-you-can-eat proposition very appealing to diners on a budget, he added.

For the full Big Hospitality story, see Red Hot World Buffet plans expansion to 80 UK venues.

See also: Pile it high—buffets are coming to town.