Report: New owner to reopen former McDonald’s restaurants in 2 mos

MOSCOW, Jun 3 (PRIME) -- All of the former McDonald’s restaurants in Russia will be reopen in two months with the first to be launched in Moscow on June 12, new owner of the chain Alexander Govor said in an interview to Forbes published on Friday.

“We have a challenging and ambitious plan to reopen all restaurants of the chain in two months,” he said.

He said that 840 restaurants are ready for a relaunch, seven more were registered but yet to be prepared for opening in the Moscow Region, several more were registered in other regions in central Russia, and about 20 more restaurants should be launched until the end of 2022. The plans include expansion to 1,000 restaurants in a few coming years, he said.

Govor’s company Club-Hotel has prepared and registered several new possible brands for the restaurants, and is to make a final decision on the brand until mid-June, he said.

The company has already been included in the list of Russia’s systemically important companies, and feels government support, he said.

McDonald's suspended operations in Russia in March, and decided to leave the market in May. The Federal Antimonopoly Service cleared Club-Hotel to acquire the restaurant chain on Thursday. The seller can repurchase the business on market conditions in the next 15 years.

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