The owner of Dave’s Hot Chicken is reportedly exploring a sale of its UK and European franchise.
The US fast food chain’s private equity-backed owner Azzurri Group, which also owns Ask Italian, Zizzi and Coco di Mama, could be looking at a sale later this year, Bloomberg reported, citing sources close to the situation.
Dave’s Hot Chicken has over 300 locations in the US and launched its first UK site in London in December 2024. The same year, Azzurri Group won the master franchise rights for the brand in the UK and Ireland, and the pair unveiled plans to launch 60 locations across the UK.
They kicked off Dave’s national expansion in June 2025, with the brand currently operating a total of nine restaurants in the UK.
In September, the fast casual restaurant chain, which specialises in Nashville-style fried chicken, also signed an exclusive agreement with Azzurri Group to roll out a minimum of 180 restaurants across 10 European countries, including Portugal, Spain and Germany.
At the time, Dave’s Hot Chicken CEO Bill Phelps said the agreement represented a ”major milestone” in the brand’s global development strategy.
Azzurri Group was approached for comment.
The news comes as the chicken market continues to boom in the UK. According to data from Meaningful Vision, chicken was 2025’s best-performing fast food category. The number of chicken-focused outlets grew by 6.5% year on year, and visits were up 5.6%, while chicken accounted for 35% of fast food menus.
Competition in the sector has continued to build in recent months, with New Orleans-born chicken brand Popeyes having expanded to more than 100 UK restaurants. Rival US chain Raising Cane’s is set to enter the UK market with a flagship site in London’s Piccadilly Circus at the end of this year.
But it’s not just chicken chains looking to compete in the sector. Domino’s expanded its Chick ‘N’ Dip brand to all stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland in February and Pizza Express launched Mac & Wings, a delivery-first mac & cheese and chicken concept, earlier this month.
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