Jollibee invests in Tim Ho Wan master franchisee

Homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) is expanding its footprint in the region’s casual dining space by investing in the Asia-Pacific master franchisee of Tim Ho Wan, dubbed as the world’s most affordable Michelin star restaurant chain.

The JFC group—now Asia’s most valuable restaurant chain—is investing up to S$45 million (P1.74 billion) in Titan Dining LP, which has executed a binding agreement for the acquisition of 100 percent of Tim Ho Wan Asia-Pacific franchise-holder, Tim Ho Wan Pte Ltd. (THWPL). The deal includes THWPL’s affiliate Dum Sum Pte Ltd. (DSPL), which owns and operates Tim Ho Wan stores in Singapore.

“This investment gives JFC the opportunity to have a significant interest in the Tim Ho Wan franchise in the long term and will bring very healthy financial returns to JFC,” JFC chair and founder Tony Tan Caktiong said in a statement.

TPWL holds the exclusive long-term master franchise to operate Tim Ho Wan restaurants in Asia-Pacific, excluding Hong Kong where the brand originated in 2009. It has 40 restaurant outlets under THWPL and DSPL, including franchised stores.

THWPL also has franchisees in Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and the Philippines.

Titan has a fund size of S$100 million, with JFC accounting for 45 percent of committed investments.

JFC will sit in the investment committee of Titan.—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA