Franchising details
Since its foundation in 2019, Fat Phill’s has developed a reputation for great, quick service food, with eye-catching dishes like their loaded sandwiches, Philly cheesesteak fries, and juicy chicken tenders which are all made fresh to order in front of customers’ eyes. A delicious range of sides from onion rings to chicken wings round out the food offerings, with drinks such as milkshakes and cocktails as perfect accompaniments to complete the experience.
What Fat Phill’s is best known for, however, is its amazing Smash Burgers. Take the Big Belly Burger for example; a sweet bun, oozing with melted cheese, loaded with crispy bacon and – of course – several stacked smash burgers. The best quality beef burgers are smashed down on the griddle and piled up high with other fresh ingredients to create a truly indulgent burger. This process isn’t just useful for a stacking spectacle either, as the thinner burgers cook more evenly and develop a crispy caramelisation that is simply incredible.
Naturally, all of Fat Phill’s fantastic creations inevitably find their way to social media, bolstering Fat Phill’s online presence and tempting more and more customers through the door. With such big, high-quality dishes one may expect to pay a premium, but the menu remains accessible and reasonable priced for everyone. In addition, because all items are made to order, wastage can be kept to a minimum meaning that Fat Phill’s is a smart choice for franchisees looking for great margins.
Fat Phill’s has also received significant recognition within the restaurant industry. It has been recently crowned the fastest growing restaurant brand in The Netherlands by the FoodService Instituut in its Food500 report. Additionally its recent move into the United Kingdom and Germany have equally received assiduous media attention. Always in 2024, Fat Phill’s founder Armin Vahabian has been featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in recognition of his outstanding entrepreneurial journey.
Franchise costs and details
Training and support
Fat Phill’s supports its franchisees in any way that it can so that they can fully focus on their store and customers. As a franchisee with Fat Phill’s you will have a great UK-based support network, with comprehensive guidance at every point in your journey. All franchise assistance is delivered by Freshly Baked, the UK Master Franchisee of global pretzel franchise Auntie Anne’s, which operates over 40 stores in the UK: an experienced group with a strong local structure to support you at every step.
On-going training starts from the initial stages of store design and continues through to marketing, staffing, and budgeting, providing help in the understanding of management and back of house systems. Support also includes:
- Introductions to sources of finance: high street banks, asset finance companies, UK startup loans
- Site selection, approval, and design
- Franchise training and opening assistance
- Training on kiosk, cost-control, and compliance technology
- Access to brand marketing resources, including annual marketing calendar
- Continued product development and innovation across the brand
Setting up a Fat Phill’s franchise site costs on average between £150,000 and £250,000, including the £20,000 franchise fee, while EBITDA is comfortably above 15%. The minimum investment in liquid capital that you need to have as a franchisee starts from approximately £100,000. However, depending on how successful your store is, you can expect to recover your investment in 2 to 3 years. Although much of this success will be dependent upon your performance in the running of day-to-day operations, Fat Phill’s talented support team will be with you at every step of your journey, so you will never feel alone.
