Jollibee Foods Corporation’s subsidiary SuperFoods, which owns Highlands Coffee, has transferred all of its assets of Vietnamese noodles chain Pho24 to East-West Restaurant Concepts.
The franchise agreement for the operation of Pho24 stores in the Philippines was also terminated. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
Founded in 2003 by Vietnamese businessman Ly Quy Trung, Pho 24 currently has 14 stores in Vietnam. East-West Restaurant Concepts is wholly owned by Viet Thai International Joint Stock Co and based in Vietnam.
Last year, the fast-food operator was reported to look into selling 10 to 15 per cent of its stake in the Vietnamese coffee chain Highlands Coffee.
The Philippines company said it wants to focus on building and growing its new businesses – Tim Ho Wan, Yoshinoya and Milksha. The group aims to open 100 Tim Ho Wan restaurants in the next few years in China and 50 Yoshinoya locations in the Philippines.
“Jollibee Foods Corporation will continue to drive strong sustainable profitable growth of these new businesses, along with its other businesses in the years ahead,” the company said.
The group reported 38 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue last year, reaching US$3.8 billion with EBITA up 32 per cent to $569 million. As of the end of January, the group operated 6481 stores worldwide, half of which were outside its home market.
