News

Wendy's sells 104 company-owned units to complete initiative

March 25, 2014

The Wendy's Company has announced the completion of its System Optimization initiative, launched in July 2013, with the sale of 104 restaurants in four U.S. markets — Phoenix, Los Angeles/Palm Springs, Hawaii and Albuquerque.

According to a news release, Wendy's has sold 418 company-operated restaurants concentrated in 13 U.S. markets, primarily in the West, as part of this initiative. The company has received total proceeds of approximately $235 million, including $138 million in 2013.

The latest transactions include the sale of:

• 40 Phoenix area restaurants to Arizona Restaurant Company LLC, led by veteran Wendy's franchisee Richard Holland, and John Peters, who previously served as Wendy's SVP of North America Operations. In addition to the Phoenix market, Holland operates 73 Wendy's restaurants elsewhere in Arizona and seven other states.
• 32 Los Angeles/Palm Springs area restaurants to Cotti Foods California Inc., along with seven restaurants in Hawaii to Cotti Foods Hawaii Inc. Both entities are headed by President and CEO Peter Capriotti II, whose organization is based in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
• 25 Albuquerque area restaurants to JAAB Restaurant Holdings LLC, led by partners Andres Garcia, Jhonny Mercado, Murshed (Ben) Mansoor and Angelo Freites. In addition to the Albuquerque market, Garcia, Mercado and Freites also operate JAA Restaurant Holdings LLC with 36 Wendy's restaurants in Florida, along with restaurants in Panama.

"We are proud of our team that has diligently worked to complete the sale — faster than our original plan — of the 13 total markets to excellent franchise organizations that are fully committed to building the Wendy's brand through restaurant reimaging, new development and other growth initiatives," CEO Emil Brolick said in the release. "This is an important step for the future of our business."

In total, the purchase agreements for the 13 markets include commitments to reimage about 180 restaurants in Wendy's contemporary restaurant design, as well as development plans for about 100 new restaurants.