Exclusive: What Subway's expansion plans mean in the UK and Ireland

Following the recent opening of Subway’s 2,500th store in Bristol, the sandwich and salad behemoth also announced plans to open a further 500 stores in the UK and Ireland. This will bring their total to 3,000 by 2020, creating around 5,000 new jobs in the process.

Subway have told us that their expansions plans are in response to consumers’ demand for more affordable quality ingredients and healthier choices, and that growth will be partnered by an increased focus on NPD—including new ingredients and breakfast options, signalling their intent to make a strong push into this market.

Peter Dowding, Subway Country Director for UK and Ireland said that they are “on track to delivering this expansion growth” despite headwinds from Brexit. Indeed the franchisee owned group IPC Europe, "have worked hard to fix prices in the short term to ensure that franchisees do not experience large price rises".

“Our model is tried and tested. It works for us and it works for our existing and new franchisees, approximately 70% of our store growth is by existing franchisees expanding their businesses, with 30% coming into the business,” Peter Dowding said.

In an independent report commissioned by the Subway brand, the Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr) highlighted the contribution Subway stores make to the UK and Irish economy in terms of spend, employment and output: “By expanding the prevalence of their QSRs across the UK and Irish regions, Subway stores have been driving business creation.” This demonstrates that franchisees, whilst an often overlooked part of the economy, are a significant driver of SME business growth. 

And its not just new menu items Subway are working on. They tell us that new digital items will be introduced for kiosk and remote ordering and collection in store, and that the UK and Ireland are currently rolling-out the new 'Fresh Forward' store décor. Dowding says this new brand identity is paying dividends, with "customers hav(ing) fed back positively". He goes on to comment “our fantastic growth is a testament to the hard work and effort of our franchisees. Our franchise model is tried and tested, it works for entrepreneurs and it works for us. We are confident our business model will continue to grow as more and more consumers demand great tasting food at a value price-point. With 5,000 new jobs expected over the next three years, opening up a further 500 stores demonstrates not only the value of the business to our franchisees but also collectively, the real and significant contribution to British and Irish economies.”