Restaurant Brands sells Starbucks Coffee NZ to Tahua Capital
The company’s licensing agreement with the global coffee giant expires this October.
Starbucks New Zealand is set to have a new operator after Restaurant Brands’ announced that they will be selling their fixed assets and stock of the coffee business to Tahua Capital for NZ$4.4 million.
Tahua will enter a new license agreement with Starbucks Coffee International and has committed to a substantial store refurbishment and store opening programme. They will also seek to secure assignment of the leases for 22 stores and employ all 300 of its existing employees.
It is expected that the transaction will be settled by late October.
“Both Tahua and Starbucks share similar values about high-quality coffee, engaged partners (employees) and a passion to create positive change in the communities they serve. We are very positive about a bright future for Starbucks Coffee in New Zealand,” Tahua CEO Charles Belcher said.
Restaurant Brands, which also operates some KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bell stores, says Starbucks Coffee currently contributes less than 4% of their total sales and concept EBITDA and was “becoming less relevant” to the company’s overall direction of expanding its core quick service restaurant brands.
The company, currently has over 300 outlets across New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii, U.S.A.
(Photo credit: Starbucks New Zealand Facebook)
