Q&A: Does Five Guys Franchise in the UK?

One of America’s favourite fast food burger chains finally made its way across the pond back in 2013. When it opened the doors to its first restaurant, the first customer arrived at four in the morning – and there was soon a queue forming behind them. Looking forward to 2022, Five Guys is a safe bet for a savvy franchise venture in the UK.

Five Guys is an establishment that cares about the quality of its food and serves its loyal customers only the best, cooking its beef patties from scratch and never using frozen ingredients. Even better, customers are able to customise their menu choices; on offer are more than 250,000 burger, hotdog and sandwich topping combinations, along with a whopping 1,000 different milkshake flavours and blends.

Does Five Guys franchise in the UK?

You’re in luck – this US-born business does indeed franchise in the UK, and is one of the top American restaurant franchise opportunities out there at the moment. Visit the Five Guys website to find out more about the industry itself, and check out the article below on all you’ll need to know about becoming a Five Guys franchisee.

Exploring the history of Five Guys

It’s hard to know why some international franchise brands succeed when they enter foreign markets, and others don’t. One of the reasons Five Guys has done so well goes right back to its humble history and the simple concept at its core – that burgers and fries cooked to perfection will draw in customers and keep them coming back for more.

Five Guys began back in 1986, when Jerry and Janie Murrell – residents of Arlington, Virginia – gave their five sons a simple choice: Start a business, or go to college. The five brothers decided to put their heads together and open up a family business, and thus Five Guys was born, named (you guessed it) for the five Murrell brothers who started it together.

Five Guys pride themselves on serving everything fresh – freezer food is non-existent in a Five Guys restaurant. Everything is cooked from scratch every day, using hand cut potatoes and Scottish reared beef. The fresh ingredients are also cooked without using timers. Staff are trained to judge that a Five Guys meal is ready to serve based upon its sight, aroma and texture.

Another key to their success is their customisable menu. Any burger, hotdog or sandwich can come with as many toppings as desired.

You have more than 250,000 possible combinations to choose from. If you had one a day, it would take you 684 years to try them all!
- Five Guys

Starting a Five Guys franchise

If you’re interested in making a career change with a fast food franchise, this American enterprise could be the one for you. Read on for the three most important questions you’ll need to answer in order to make this happen.

1. How do you go about becoming a Five Guys franchisee?

The first bit of good news is that you don’t need past experience in the sector to become a Five Guys franchisee. According to the business, the ideal Five Guys franchisee should possess the following attributes:

• Be passionate about the fast food industry and have a genuine interest in the sector
• Be willing to brave this highly competitive market
• You are business-minded
• You are focused and goal-oriented
• You are motivated and driven by success

So, if you tick all the boxes above, you’re in luck – Five Guys wants you! The only thing left is to ensure you meet the following financial requirements outlined below.

2. How much do you need to invest?

In order to become a Five Guys franchisee, you will need to be able to invest between £300,000 and £550,000 into your new business venture. This covers all avenues, including:

• The franchise fee
• The development fee
• The equipment costs
• The initial inventory costs
• All the other fees needed to start-up your own Five Guys branch

The royalty fee that Five Guys take is reported to sit at around 6% of your gross monthly sales, and the business spends this on improving the brand itself and supporting their franchisees. Site location and sizes vary, but generally Five Guys establishment sizes range from 600 to 900 square metres. 

3. What do you get for your investment?

An investment into the Five Guys franchise is one that promises profit and job satisfaction to all franchisees who can meet the requirements outlined above. From the very start of your franchising journey with Five Guys, you will receive:

• Access to dedicated teams and instructors ready to provide you with tip top training and technical support
• The onsite training lasts for two weeks and will get you restaurant-ready
• The ongoing support includes purchasing co-ops with you, hosting a grand opening, helping with security, newsletter mentions, and more

For an additional charge, Five Guys may also supply extra personnel they have already trained to staff your restaurant.

Five Guys will also help you advertise in your local area, allocating 2% of the net gross sales in order to do this. Other advertising fees - such as promotional materials and cooperative advertising - will vary depending the local needs of the area where you set up shop.

Franchising with Five Guys also comes with all the added benefits running a fast food business can offer, amongst them:

• The widespread appeal of the industry
• The fact that fast food franchises are incredibly easy to market
• How affordable a fast food franchise is to run
• The fact that the fast food market continues to grow to this day

Start your own franchise today in the thriving fast food and burger industries

Hopefully, this article has convinced you that franchising in the fast food industry at the moment is a total no-brainer. Five Guys is undoubtedly a hard-to-beat option to fulfill all your franchising dreams, but if this franchise doesn’t feel like quite the right fit for you, be sure to check out the other top burger franchises in the UK to secure yourself the perfect portion of this sector.