First new Burger King site for S Wales in ten years opens

Union Burger's first new Burger King ready for business in Newport as Friars Walk opens

17 November 2015

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Cooke & Arkwright acted on behalf of franchisee Union Burger, to find and negotiate the terms on its first new Burger King restaurant to be opened in the last ten years. The former Halifax bank at 25-26 Commercial Street in Newport has been converted into a Burger King restaurant sporting one of the latest interior design concepts currently available for the Burger King brand.

The 1800 sq ft site was ready for business in time for the opening of the new Friars Walk shopping centre development situated in the heart of Newport, and created at least 35 new jobs.

Union Burger, owned by brother and sister Kim Jenkins and Chris Baker, currently runs ten Burger King outlets across South Wales and the Midlands and is planning on opening several new sites in the near future.

Huw Thomas, director at Cooke & Arkwright, who is retained to acquire new sites on behalf of Union Burger, said: “The new venture is the first time Burger King has opened in the City of Newport and hopefully it will spearhead Union Burger’s expansion drive across the region. We’re pleased to have been able to find suitable premises for Union Burger to grow its business and enable Burger King to expand its restaurant offering in South Wales.”

Kim Jenkins, company director at Union Burger said: “My brother and I have been anxious to expand our business since we purchased the company in 2013 and when we saw the Commercial Street site we immediately knew it was right for us. It’s exciting to be opening our first new Burger King restaurant in over a decade. It seemed like the perfect time to set up a new franchise in Newport, especially with the Friars Walk development opening . We’re also looking into opening up several new sites across South Wales in the near future.”

The site opened on 2nd November, with terms on other sites across South Wales currently being negotiated by Cooke & Arkwright.

Cooke & Arkwright represented Union Burger Ltd, and David Williams of Emanuel Jones represented the landlord.

Cooke & Arkwright have been providing rating valuation advice to The Welsh Rugby Union Limited (“WRU”) and Millennium Stadium plc for many years. They were recently successful in achieving substantial reductions in the assessments of the Millennium Stadium, covering both the 2005 and 2010 rating list. These negotiated reductions yielded savings of c.£3.5m which, crucially, allows the WRU to re-invest in rugby throughout Wales. They advise the WRU across the group portfolio including the National Centre of Excellence in the Vale of Glamorgan. The valuation issues across the WRU portfolio are complex requiring a high level of understanding of the funding and finances of professional sport in Wales. Cooke & Arkwright’s experience and understanding of these issues and application to the rating valuation have yielded these substantial negotiated reductions. The WRU and the Millennium Stadium entrust our work to organisations with the required levels in experience and expertise in dealing with these complex issues. I am glad to say we have this expertise in Wales. I would have no hesitation in recommending ratepayers making use of this Welsh based expertise.

Steve Phillips, Group Finance Director, Welsh Rugby Union Group