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Burger chains expand in UK
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December 31, 1998: 9:03 a.m. ET
7,000 new jobs as Burger King and McDonald's fight UK turf wars
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Up to 7,000 new jobs are expected to be created next year in the United Kingdom as burger chains McDonald's Corp. and Burger King go head-to-head in the war to find new customers and expand their businesses.
A report in The Wall Street Journal - citing an unnamed official at McDonald's - said the group planned to open 100 new restaurants in Britain. The company expects the openings to create some 3,500 new part-time and full time jobs. Burger King, a subsidiary of Diageo (DGE), the foods-to-drinks giant, confirmed it expects to do the same.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a Burger King spokeswoman, saying: "Certainly there is a long way to go before we have the number of restaurants per capita that we have in the U.S."
McDonald's operates 922 restaurants in Britain and more than 23,300 worldwide. Burger King has 523 outlets in the UK out of 10,000 globally. Both groups are set to invest a total of 100 million pounds ($168.5 million) in the expansion.
However, the vast majority of the Burger King restaurants will be franchises, operated under license. Leisure group Granada Group (GAA) will account for about half of the openings, which it will install alongside its Little Chef chain of roadside restaurants.
But McDonald's will retain direct control of about 70 percent of the new openings, with the rest held by franchisees. 
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