Entrepreneur Atul Pathak OBE shakes hands with German Doner Kebab

Atul Pathak OBE, one of the UK’s most successful and biggest franchisee entrepreneurs has joined forces with fast-casual dining chain German Doner Kebab (GDK).

Pathak is known for operating 43 McDonald’s restaurants across the country which employed more than 3500 people for over two decades. He sold his business in March this year and has joined forces with GDK’s currently expanding operations. The food chain plans to set up 78 more restaurants in 2022.

Pathak, who is excited to be working on the new project said, “It’s hugely exciting to be teaming-up with German Doner Kebab. After nearly 20 years with McDonald’s, I decided to sell my business and explore new opportunities that reflected the changes we are seeing amongst Gen Z and Millennial consumers. It was a great journey to grow from one restaurant to 43 and be the largest franchisee of McDonald’s in the UK. But, I felt it was time for a new challenge and when the opportunity to partner with German Doner Kebab arose it was a perfect fit for our new ambitions.”

He added, “German Doner Kebab is at the forefront of a new age of fast-casual dining in the UK and is expanding across the nation with a dynamic and responsive consumer offering that places it firmly as the fast-casual brand of the future. It is an exciting time to be a part of the brand story and I look forward to playing a key role in strengthening German Doner Kebab’s position as the UK’s fastest-growing restaurant chain.”

GDK, popular for its ‘expectation-defying kebabs’ and quality food, has quickly become the fastest-growing food chain in the UK, employing over 4000 staff with sales up by 75% in 2021. It has released a ‘development pipeline’ that involves opening over 400 UK restaurants in the next seven years and has set up restaurants in other countries like Sweden, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the US and the Middle East.

CEO of German Doner Kebab, Imran Sayeed expressed how Pathak’s involvement will help the food chain and said, “Atul’s experience in Drive-Thru will also be invaluable as we explore more and develop new formats and concepts for the brand. It’s exciting times at German Doner Kebab as we take our growth plans to a new level, and we are very much looking forward to working with Atul to take forward his development plans and bring the German Doner Kebab experience to more consumers throughout the country.”