Smashburger plans UK expansion

US restaurant chain Smashburger has announced the acquisition of a further five sites in the UK, following the launch of its first UK restaurant at the Kingston Centre in Milton Keynes retail park this May.

The new locations will see the restaurant opening in Brighton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Bath and Wednesbury.

The first of the new locations to be opened will be the Brighton restaurant, taking over the previous two-floor, 2,666sq ft Mucho Burrito site, located on North Street, in July.

Newcastle and Bath will both welcome the restaurant chain with planned openings in autumn, with the Glasgow restaurant planned for opening at the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Wednesbury restaurant in the West Midlands will be opening in early 2017.

"There's a £2.8 billion burger market in the UK and we believe there's massive room for growth for the right brand," said UK managing director of Smashburger Tim Lowther.

"The way we cook our burgers at Smashburger is unique and the result is a much better burger. We are confident consumers will taste the difference and are very excited to be opening a further five sites in the next 12 months. We are aiming for 35 over the next few years, creating up to 1,400 new jobs."

The franchise already has over 300 locations in the US.