Popeyes UK turnover jumps 50% to £178m as losses widen too
The fried chicken chain grew its restaurant count by 69% in 2025 and plans around 150 UK sites by the end of 2026, even as pre-tax losses also increased.
Popeyes UK posted record turnover of £178m for 2025, up 50% on the previous year, as the fried chicken chain pushed through a rapid run of openings.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 90% to £17m, but pre-tax losses also widened, climbing to £6m from £4m the year before. Growth and losses are rising together, a pattern common to chains still spending heavily to open sites.
Restaurant numbers grew 69% in 2025, from 64 to 108 locations, and the chain has opened 18 more in 2026 so far. It is targeting around 150 UK restaurants by the end of the year, alongside a first move into the Republic of Ireland through a partnership with forecourt operator Applegreen.
This reflects the strength of our brand and the success of our expansion strategy across the UK.
Spending to grow, not yet to profit
"2025 was another year of very strong growth for Popeyes," said chief executive Tom Crowley. "This reflects the strength of our brand, the success of our expansion strategy" and continued investment in new sites, he added.
The widening losses are the cost of that strategy: each new restaurant carries fit-out and launch expenses before it reaches steady trading, and Popeyes UK is opening them faster than it is recovering those costs. Whether that trade-off holds depends on how quickly the newer sites mature.
Loyalty and digital ordering
Popeyes UK's Rewards loyalty programme has passed 200,000 members, and its app has logged over a million downloads with more than 100,000 customers signed up in under two years. Both numbers matter more than they might for a slower-growing chain, since digital ordering and repeat visits help offset the cost of each new opening.
The chain opened its first UK restaurant in Stratford, east London, in November 2021, and passed the 100-restaurant mark in November 2025. Fellow US import McDonald's has had a rougher 2026, its stock recently falling to a four-year low on inflation concerns, a reminder that rapid openings and a strong brand do not fully insulate a chain from the wider pressures on UK eating-out spend.
