Gulf Restaurant Investment: Acquisitions, Expansion and a Changing Market
From Saudi franchise buyouts to a London portfolio worth at least £1 billion bought by an Abu Dhabi group, the past 18 months of Gulf restaurant dealmaking show where capital is heading and what it is paying for.
Gulf restaurant dealmaking has rarely been about glamour. The transactions of the past 18 months are mostly about rights, scale and capital: who holds a franchise, who owns the kitchens, and who will fund the next hundred outlets. Read together, they describe a market that is consolidating at home and, in one prominent case, buying abroad.
Franchise rights change hands
In January 2026, Alamar Foods, which runs Domino’s and Dunkin’ in Saudi Arabia, announced it was buying 100 per cent of Cravia Arabia, the franchisee of Five Guys in the Kingdom, for up to SAR 85 million, subject to adjustments. The company has 13 restaurants across Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Khobar, carries no debt and was expected to generate about SAR 17 million in adjusted EBITDA for 2025. That puts the headline price at roughly five times the expected adjusted EBITDA. Trade coverage of Alamar’s first-quarter results later described the purchase as complete.
The deal ended some speculation. In June 2025, Americana had confirmed preliminary talks to acquire a stake in Cravia, the Dubai-based operator behind Zaatar W Zeit, Five Guys and Cinnabon, and industry sources suggested the deal might involve a stake held by Fajr Capital. The talks did not, in the coverage reviewed for this article, produce an announced Americana deal.
Americana, meanwhile, bought into Arabic cuisine. In February it signed a 75-year exclusive licence to develop Malak Al Tawouk across 13 markets and agreed to buy the brand’s existing franchisees in the UAE (seven restaurants) and Saudi Arabia (three) for about SAR 78 million. Those franchisees had annualised revenue of about SAR 79.1 million and net profit near SAR 6.4 million, on Argaam’s figures, so the price was roughly twelve times profit. The group says the Saudi acquisition completed on 9 July. The long licence is arguably worth more than the ten stores. For the group’s results, see our Americana report.
Smaller deals, same logic
Below the big names, groups are filling gaps. Al Kuzama Trading agreed to buy 25 per cent of Unique Food Catering, which runs restaurants, fast-food outlets and breakfast services, for SAR 35 million, subject to competition-authority approval; the target’s revenue rose from SAR 39.9 million to SAR 59.4 million in 2025. Burgerizzr, a Saudi quick-service chain, consolidated a specialty coffee business, Shovel, that it acquired in the fourth quarter of 2025. The pattern is a restaurant group adding a second format, not a financial buyer arriving.
Capital for technology and delivery
Money is also flowing to the layers around the restaurant. In July 2025, Saudi-listed Jahez agreed to take 76.56 per cent of Qatar’s Snoonu for $245 million, giving it a foothold in a new market. In February 2026, EvolutionX, a private-credit platform set up by Temasek and DBS, led a $50 million growth round for Kitopi, which runs more than 200 outlets in five Gulf markets; the funding follows what Kitopi calls its profitability milestone and will back its own brands and franchising. In June, Foodics bought out Norma AI, a story we cover in a separate report.
Gulf money goes abroad
The largest cheque of the period went the other way. In April, DIAFA, an affiliate of Abu Dhabi’s IHC, completed a majority purchase of Richard Caring’s hospitality portfolio, which includes The Ivy Brasseries, Annabel’s and the Caprice Holdings restaurants. The National said the ten-figure deal implied a value of at least £1 billion. DIAFA already owns the group behind Zuma and Roka, and said Annabel’s will open in New York. This is capital buying brands to take global, not to serve the Gulf.
What changes
Two themes stand out. First, valuations are tied to unit economics that buyers can read, from the five-times-EBITDA Saudi franchise to the profitable Malak Al Tawouk stores. Second, the market the buyers are entering is not uniformly strong: UAE dine-in demand has softened while delivery grows, as our segment analysis shows. Buyers are paying for brands and rights that can withstand that divergence.
Sources & fact-check10
- Alamar Foods buys Five Guys operator Cravia Arabia for SAR 85 mnSharikat Mubasher, 4 January 2026
- Cravia exits Five Guys Saudi Arabia through sale to Alamar FoodsFajr Capital, 1 January 2026
- Americana signs 75-year license pact for Malak Al Tawouk, acquires franchisees in UAE, Saudi ArabiaArgaam, 9 February 2026
- Americana Restaurants delivers strong H1 2026 performanceZawya (Americana Restaurants press release), July 2026
- Americana confirms preliminary talks to acquire a stake in CraviaGCC Business Watch, 23 June 2025
- EvolutionX makes first investment in GCC, leads $50mln growth capital raised by F&B tech leader KitopiZawya (EvolutionX press release), February 2026
- Al Kuzama Trading buys 25% stake in top Saudi catering companyZawya, 2026
- Jahez acquires 76% stake in Qatar’s Snoonu in $245 million dealWamda, 9 July 2025
- Abu Dhabi’s DIAFA acquires majority stake in Richard Caring restaurant empireThe National, 12 April 2026
- Saudi Arabia’s Fast-Food Chains in 2026: Growth Becomes a Margin ContestXtra Food Magazine, 2026
Every name, number and date in this story was checked against the sources above before publication. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we correct errors openly. See our editorial standards.
