The German baking retailer Ditsch has teamed up with commercial property consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield in a hunt for 50 new sites across the UK.
In a major new expansion, the pretzel specialist will be trying to find a series of new sites across the country that will offer high profits. This will include city centres, towns and shopping centres.
Matt Illingworth, partner at Cushman & Wakefield, said: "Ditsch is a long-established German company with strong financial backing and a scalable business model. We will help Ditsch find bright, modern and flexible units which will complement the firm’s high standards."
Initial plans for expansion had been announced by Ditsch’s managing director Raz Nehushtan in January, which included that new outlets will be opened under the existing brand, whilst the Pretzel King food-to-go chain will be extended.
Ditsch currently has 13 outlets under its estate in the UK, with stores in London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool. New outlets in Bristol and Nottingham opened to the public at the end of 2012. The firm will want to be securing sites which are between 85 and 270 sq ft, with a prime focus on small kiosks that can be situated at mobile stands or under escalators.
The company was originally founded back in 1919 in Mainz, but is now responsible for employing over 400 staff across its 180 locations around the world. It all began with Wilhelm Ditsch wanting to offer pretzels to the people of Mainz, whilst his son Heinz Ditsch, who was also a master baker, expanded the business beyond the town.
The business expansion is set to roll out towards the end of the year.