The fast-growing US fried chicken chain will open its first location under the deal in early summer at Birmingham Airport.
Located airside, the restaurant will offer Popeyes’s full all-day menu as well as its recently launched breakfast menu.
“This is the first of a number of locations we will open in partnership with SSP, marking a significant milestone for the business as we roll out our ambitious growth plans for 2025, and reflects the continued strength of our customer proposition and brand appeal,” says Tom Byng, chief development officer at Popeyes UK.
Popeyes revealed back in January that it was aiming to open close to one new site per week in 2025.
The group plans to almost double its UK footprint over the year with the launch of a further 45 sites across multiple formats and channels including eat-in restaurants, drive thrus, and delivery kitchens, spanning high street units and travel hubs.
“There’s a huge appetite for Popeyes so we’re really excited to launch our new partnership together at UK travel hubs,” says Kari Daniels, CEO of SSP UK & Ireland.
Popeyes’s ambitious expansion plans follow a year of ‘transformational growth’ in 2024 when it opened 33 locations, sold the equivalent of one sandwich every three seconds, and delivered a 100% increase in total sales to more than £118m, equating to above £2m per week on average.
The group opened its first UK site in London’s Stratford in November 2021 and has said previously that it is aiming to open 350 sites across the UK within 10 years.
In January last year TDR Capital took a controlling stake in Popeyes UK.