Papa John's International Inc. has acquired restaurants previously operated by the M25 division of Drake Food Service International in the United Kingdom. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, according to a press release.

"The U.K. is important within our international footprint with the largest number of stores outside of North America, strong brand awareness with consumers and potential for long-term growth as we still have tremendous whitespace in the market," Amanda Clark, chief international and development officer for Papa Johns, said in the press release. "Owning and operating restaurants will allow Papa Johns to follow a similar model that we've created in the U.S., which enables us to leverage our resources, best practices and scale with franchisees in the U.K. and worldwide to further their success."

The new corporate-owned restaurant portfolio will consist of 91 locations across London and other parts of the U.K.

"The investments we are making today, combined with our global resources and in-house expertise, will enable Papa Johns to drive higher sales going forward," Rob Payne, managing director of Papa Johns in the U.K., said in the press release. "Establishing a corporate-owned restaurant portfolio is one of many steps we are taking to reposition our U.K. portfolio in a way that ensures our franchisees and this market drive above average industry growth over the long-term. This announcement other initiatives we've undertaken including investments in marketing technology, pricing and operations."

DFSI will continue to hold its master franchise rights for Papa Johns in Spain, Portugal, Chile and Central America.

"By exiting our stake in the U.K., we will be able to focus our efforts on our Papa Johns portfolio in Iberia and Latin America," Fernando Frauca, managing partner and CEO of DFSI, said in the press release. "We are proud to be a partner of this brand and look forward to continuing to invest in our other markets."

Papa Johns operates 5,700 restaurants in approximately 50 countries and territories.

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