Popeyes UK (“Popeyes” or the “Company”), the award-winning chicken QSR brand with over 110 UK restaurants, has today been named Europe’s No.1 fastest growing company in the food and beverage industry, according to the Financial Times’ latest FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies ranking.
The annual list, now in its’ tenth year, recognises the fastest growing companies across Europe spanning a vast number of sectors and different sized companies. Popeyes was named the top growth company across the F&B sector, and second fastest growing business overall in the list out of 1,000 qualifying businesses.
Thousands of businesses apply for inclusion in the list every year, with entrants independently assessed and ranked by compound annual growth rate (CAGR), which for 2026 entries was considered between 2021 and 2024.
Popeyes’ ranking reflects the huge strides the business has made since landing in the UK in November 2021, growing to over 110 restaurants and 3,500 employees, and generating sales of over £118m in 2024, up from just £15m in 2022.
Founded in New Orleans in 1972, Popeyes is an award-winning brand with over 50 years of culinary heritage to its name. The brand’s signature Louisiana chicken, marinated for 12 hours, then hand-breaded and battered to create its famous ‘shatter crunch’ has taken the UK by storm, with queues around the block for each new restaurant opening, four years on from launching in the market.
2025 marked another year of success in which the Company opened nearly 50 new restaurants, and Popeyes plans to maintain a similar pace of expansion in 2026 as it sees further opportunity and appetite for growth across the UK.
Tom Crowley, CEO at Popeyes UK, commented: “We’re incredibly proud to be named the fastest-growing F&B brand in Europe and second fastest growing business overall out of 1,000 companies in the highly accredited FT 1000 ranking.
This recognition is a testament to huge achievements our dedicated Popeyes team has made since landing in the UK in 2021, scaling rapidly to now over 110 restaurants and over 3,500 employees, and we’re only just getting started. We look forward to building on this momentum in 2026 as we continue expanding into new locations.”
