US fast food chain Wendy’s is planning to open 20 stores across the UK next year

Executives at American fast food chain Wendy’s recently revealed plans to open up to 20 outlets in the UK to their shareholders.

They said the brand, which has restaurants in America, Asia, and the Middle East, would open its first European outlets in the UK next year.

What is Wendy’s?

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Founded in 1969, Wendy’s is the third largest burger chain in the world, after McDonald's and Burger King, with more than 6,700 restaurants across the globe.

In 2008, Wendy’s merged with Arby’s (another fast food chain) to form the Wendy’s Company, with estimated assets of over $4 billion.

Wendy’s makes burgers with a signature square patty of fresh ground beef, instead of the traditional round patties.

UK customers could soon be able to try out classics from the Wendy’s menu, like the Bacon Jalapeno Triple - three burger patties, and more than 1200 calories. You can browse the menu, which includes wraps, and sides like chicken nuggets and baked potatoes, here.

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UK customers could soon be able to try out classics from the Wendy’s menu, like the Bacon Jalapeno Triple - three burger patties, and more than 1200 calories. Photo: Wendy's.

Why the UK?

The company’s chief development officer, Abigail Pringle, said Wendy’s is confident it can disrupt the dominance of McDonald’s and Burger King in the UK.

Speaking to shareholders, Pringle said, "We believe their overall growth in the quick service restaurant segment – and hamburger specifically – is growing and we believe we can be a challenger brand in that market and have great success.

"We also know that great American brands have been successful. Burger brands have been unbelievably successful there. But we believe that we can challenge those brands."

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Pringle made clear that the expansion marked the beginning of a wider move to establish restaurants across Europe.

"The United Kingdom will be our beachhead to European expansion,” she said.

“We believe it is a growing market and it has lots of great growth ahead of it.

No locations in the UK have been confirmed yet, but the company said it was aiming to open its first restaurant in the next 12 to 18 months.

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