Company gets some finger-lickin’ good news

FORGET Kentucky, for the best chicken you need to go to Oldham.

Just ask KFC which, after last month’s chicken shortage fiasco, has returned to its original Royton-based distributor.

The American fast-food chain was forced to shut hundreds of stores, including several in Greater Manchester, after switching contracts to DHL and QSL.

More than 260 jobs were axed at Bidvest, whose headquarters are at Salmon Fields, in Royton, when the firm originally lost the KFC contract last year. But now the firm has won a new contract to deliver to 350 KFC restaurants across the northern England and Wales.

Bidvest said it was ‘delighted’ to confirm it had signed a new long-term agreement with KFC UK & Ireland.

Its business unit director, Paul Whyte, said: “KFC are a valued customer and we will provide them with a seamless return to our network.”

A small number of KFC’s 900 restaurants remain closed while others are offering a limited menu.

A KFC spokesman said: “Our focus remains on ensuring our customers can enjoy our chicken without further disruption. With that in mind, the decision has been taken in conjunction with QSL and DHL to revert the distribution contract for up to 350 of our restaurants in the north of the UK back to Bidvest Logistics.”