Best known for its cheap tacos and burritos, Taco Bell, which is to debut at the Lakeside Shopping at the end of June, is Yum’s most profitable business in the US and is seen by the company to have the most growth potential.
“This is a major step in our international expansion, and Lakeside is just the start of our plans in this country,” said Nick Dawson, general manager, Taco Bell UK and Europe.
This will not be Yum’s first attempt to bring Taco Bell to the UK. The chain last attempted to establish itself in the UK in the late 1980s. It had three outlets in London and one in Birmingham, all of which were closed by the mid-1990s.
According to Yum, the Mexican food market in the UK has grown by 9 per cent in the past two years, with chains such as Wahaca and Tortilla now a fixture in the City.
Mr Dawson declined to be drawn on the potential size of Taco Bell’s roll-out in the UK, except to say that the Lakeside store marks the first in a number of openings planned over the coming year.
Yum, which recorded $10.8bn in turnover last year, is eyeing international expansion as a key driver of growth as the US market remains stagnant. It opened its first Taco Bell in India earlier this year, and it plans to have at least 1,000 restaurants there by 2015.