AmRest

Infobox Company
name = AmRest Holdings N.V.

type = Public (WSE: [http://www.gpw.pl/wykresy/wykres.asp?ticker=EAT EAT] )
foundation = 1993
founder = Donald Kendall Sr
location_city = Wrocław, Poland Amsterdam, Netherlands
area_served = nowrap beginPoland•w Czech Republic•w Hungary•w Russia•w Bulgaria•w Serbia•w United Statesnowrap end
key_people = Henry McGovern, , Chairman, President and CEO
Martin Coles, Chief Operating Officer
Wojciech Mroczyński, CFO
industry = Restaurants
products = nowrap beginKFC•w Pizza Hut•w Burger King•w Starbucks•w Applebee's•w Rodeo Drive•w Freshpointnowrap end
revenue = profit € 225.5 million (2007)
operating_income = profit € 16.9 million (2007)
net_income = profit € 9.8 million (2007)
assets = € 162.6 million (2007)
num_employees = 15,000+ (2008)
subsid = nowrap beginAmerican Restaurants•w AmRest Coffee•w Apple Grove Holding (80%)nowrap end
homepage = [http://www.amrest.eu/ www.amrest.eu]

American Restaurants (WSE: [http://www.gpw.pl/wykresy/wykres.asp?ticker=EAT EAT] ) is an international fast-food and casual dining restaurant operator. The company is primarily based in Wrocław and operates in Poland as well as seven other foreign markets. AmRest has almost 400 restaurants in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and in the United States. The company had its initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in 2005.

History

In 1993 Donald M. Kendall, Sr., Donald M. Kendall, Jr., Christian R. Eisenbeiss and Henry J. McGovern established American Restaurants Services. Initially, the company held franchise rights to operate Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants in Western Poland. In 1998, it expanded its operations outside Poland, by taking over KFC and Pizza Hut outlets in the Czech Republic which were previously run by Yum! Brands.

In 2000 AmRest Holdings was formed as a joint venture company between American Restaurants and Yum! Brands, and in 2001 the new company took over International Fast Food Polska, the operator of the Burger King locations in Poland. All Burger King restaurants were soon converted into KFC. In 2005 the company acquired the remaining franchise for Yum! concepts in the Czech Republic and Poland becoming the exclusive KFC and Pizza Hut franchisee in those countries. In 2006 AmRest bought the rights to seventeen KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Hungary and launched new Freshpoint and Rodeo Drive brands.

In 2007 AmRest opened its first new Burger King restaurant in Poland, the first KFC restaurants in Serbia and Bulgaria and signed joint venture agreements with Starbucks about opening the coffee chain's stores in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. In 2008 company signed agreements about opening Burger King in Bulgaria and acquired several restaurants in the Russian market. In January 2008 AmRest opened first Starbucks store in Prague. The company will also open its first Starbucks location in Poland in 2008.

In May 2008 AmRest acquired 80% shares in Apple Grove Holding, the second biggest Applebee's franchisee in the United States. On July 4 2008 it was announced that AmRest wants to open Applebee's restaurants in Poland and Burger King in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.

External links

* [http://www.amrest.eu/ Official website]
* [http://www.burgerking.com.pl/ Burger King Poland]
* [http://www.starbuckscoffee.cz/ Strarbucks Czech Republic]
* [http://www.kfc.pl/ KFC Poland]
* [http://www.kfc.cz/ KFC Czech Republic]
* [http://www.pizzahut.pl/ Pizza Hut Poland]
* [http://www.pizzahut.hu/ Pizza Hut Hungary]
* [http://www.rodeodrive.pl/ Rodeo Drive]