Tim Hortons to open first U.K. location in Scotland

TORONTO• Overseas media were abuzz Monday with reports Scotland would be home to the first stand-alone Tim Hortons location in the U.K.

According to multiple reports, the first unit of the Canadian coffee and baked goods chain will open on Argyle Street in Glasgow this spring.

Parent company

announced last summer that it would be taking the Tim Hortons brand into the U.K., one of multiple destinations in its aggressive global expansion plan.

“This deal is part of our growth plan to take the iconic Tim Hortons brand around the world,” Daniel Schwartz, chief executive of Restaurant Brands International, said at the time. “Great Britain is an attractive quick-serve restaurant market with a strong and growing coffee culture, so it is a natural fit for the brand.”

Tim Hortons’ joint venture partner in the region is local franchise operator SK Group, which led the expansion of the Domino’s Pizza chain in the UK.

Gurprit Dhaliwal, chief operating officer of Tim Hortons UK and Ireland, told the Evening Times, “We’ve witnessed Tim Hortons phenomenal success in Canada and wanted to replicate this in Great Britain.

“It’s hard to explain just how important Tim Hortons is to Canadians — it’s not just a restaurant, it’s a way of life and a place of ‘home,’ and we’re positive Great Britain will fall in love the brand.”

The Mirror, meanwhile, made an attempt to explain Timbits to its readers. “They’re not ‘doughnuts’, but sweet ‘dough balls’,” wrote reporter Joshua Barrie.

Industry experts say Great Britain is a good expansion market for fast-food brands because there is a lower penetration of quick-service restaurants in the U.K. than in North America.

In Canada, about 68 per cent of restaurant traffic is at quick-service establishments, according to market research firm NPD Group — about double that of quickservice restaurants in Great Britain.

Burger King operates restaurants in U.K., as do rivals and Dunkin’ Donuts.

RBI boasts roughly US$27 billion in sales a year across its 23,000 restaurants which are located in more than 100 countries.