Burger King Sells 278 Restaurants And Debuts Lamb Flatbread Burgers In The UK

Big news is coming out of the Burger King headquarters this week — first, the burger mega-chain debuted a new menu item in the United Kingdom yesterday, the Lamb Flatbread Burger. Then, the company announced that Carrols Restaurant Group has agreed to open 278 new BK locations, making the group the largest franchisee of Burger King restaurants in the world. 

Regarding the lamb burger, Burger King rolled out the product across the U.K. and it will be available at all locations for a limited time only. The sandwich includes a grilled lamb patty topped with spices, crisp salad, chile ketchup, mint yogurt sauce, and served on rosemary flatbread. The photos reveal that the "crisp salad" consists of lettuce, tomatoes, raw onions, and cucumber slices. The lamb patty is fairly thin, even by Burger King's relatively slim hamburger standards. 

Advertisements for the new item play up the fact that this is the first time ever that a major fast-food chain has introduced a lamb burger. It will be very interesting to see how the sales fare, though with Easter just around the corner, perhaps Burger King is attempting to cash in on the seasonal popularity of lamb.

Moving onto the deal with Carrols Restaurant Group — the company is currently the largest American franchisee of Burger King locations, and this new sale will push them into the top spot globally. The deal will cost Carrols Restaurant Group $15.8 million in cash and give them a 28.9 percent stake in the Burger King company. They also agreed to remodel 450 locations over the next three and a half years, according to a joint statement made by the companies this morning.