Zambrero

About Zambrero

Zambrero, Australia's largest Mexican quick-service franchise, was founded in Canberra in 2005 by Sam Prince and has now grown to more than 300 locations globally. Prince, a Scottish-born doctor, came up with the idea of using profits to support humanitarian causes, and the chain donates a meal to the developing world for every one bought through its Plate 4 Plate initiative. It has grown to become the biggest Mexican restaurant group in Australia and the eighth largest globally. In 2021, the brand announced plans to expand to the UK, with a debut site opening later that year on London’s Kentish Town. The brand has since grown to 13 sites here.

In February 2023, Zambrero received £143m in equity financing to open more restaurants in Britain and Ireland. The minority stake being taken by Metric Capital Partners, a European private capital manager, is understood to be worth about A$250m (£143m), and is the first external capital taken by Zambrero. Prince, who still owns over 70% of the business, said: “We understand the retail world is difficult to operate in right now, but there is a lot of momentum that we’re building up across the UK and Ireland. The UK market is still going through its evolution, whereby Mexican food is considered something that can be healthy, and that is continuing to grow. We want to deliver a billion meals by 2025, which means we have to continue to grow across regions like the UK and America.”

In July 2025, Zambrero launched a franchise recruitment programme in the UK, with plans to open 100 sites by 2030. Propel understands that the business has signed up its first three franchise partners, which will look to open their first sites in Scotland, north London and Hampshire, respectively, within the next 12 months.

Emily Teh, chief executive of Zambrero UK, said: “We’ve had a lot of interest in the brand during the last couple of years - and now is the right time for us to expand through our franchise partners and work towards opening 100 restaurants by 2030. We also have opportunities for area developers to join us and help us achieve our growth plans.

“We’re looking for passionate franchise partners who can open multiple restaurants. We’ve had great success through multi-site ownership in other markets, including Australia and Ireland, with more than half of our franchise partners wanting to go again and open more restaurants. We love this energy and enthusiasm for the brand and hope to find like-minded franchise partners here in the UK.”

The following month, Zambrero made its debut in Scotland after signing up its first franchisee in the UK. The company has partnered with Dan Hawley to open a dark kitchen site in Scotland, which will be the first of a number of sites Zambrero will open with Hawley north of the border. In September 2025, the company followed this by hiring two development agents to help drive its expansion in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. In November 2025, following the success of his dark kitchen, Hawley secured the site for his first restaurant with Zambrero, in Glasgow. He said: “I’m excited to be opening the first Zambrero restaurant in Glasgow. I saw a great opportunity for the brand here, and we’ve already had an amazing response to our delivery kitchen that we’ve been running for a few months now.”

In January 2026, Teh told Propel the business has made a “really strong start” to its franchise journey here. She said: “We've already signed up several franchise partners, with most of them committing to multi-site agreements. The fact they're all experienced entrepreneurs is a really promising signal at such an early stage of our recruitment push. Our development agents have also kicked off their recruitment programmes and they're already having some great discussions and got strong momentum with site acquisition and franchise partner recruitment.”

Its debut Scottish site opened in February 2026, and in April 2026, Zambrero UK development agents Damian Bennett and Dawn Catherall signed up as franchisees. Bennett and Catherall were hired by the brand in September as development agents to help drive its expansion in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.

Catherall said: “Damian and I are pleased to announce that we are now franchise partners with Zambrero UK. As part of this step, we are proud to enter a joint franchise partnership with Danny Smith, who will lead the day-to-day operations of our restaurants. This arrangement enables Damian and I to focus on our roles as development agents. We strongly believe that to effectively support and grow a network, it’s essential to truly understand the day-to-day realities of running a restaurant. By owning and operating locations ourselves, we stay closely connected to the operational challenges, team dynamics, and customer experience that define success in this business. Importantly, the restaurants we own and operate will also serve as our centre of excellence, providing a real, working environment to train and develop new franchise partners.”

That same month, Zambrero appointed development agents James Fleck, Michelle Jelfs and Sarah Preston, to spearhead its expansion in the West Midlands and south west territories, with plans to open more than 20 restaurants in the regions within the next three years.

The following month, Zambrero said it is targeting an estate of at least 30 sites across Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and Berkshire by 2030 after naming Sumin Lohani as a development agent for the region. Sumin, already a multi-site franchise partner with YO!, joined Zambrero as a franchise partner in 2025 and took over an existing restaurant in Reading before opening his second restaurant, in Basingstoke, for the brand’s 16th UK site.

In July 2026, Zambrero told Propel it is now entering “an accelerated growth phase” in the UK, with multiple restaurants in development and plans to significantly expand its franchise network over the next 12 months. By the end of 2026, Zambrero aims to sign a further 20 franchise partners, taking the total number with signed commitments to 35. Restaurant growth is also expected to accelerate, with up to ten new restaurants forecast to open. In addition, a further 30 locations are being targeted for 2027, providing “a strong platform for continued expansion”.

The said: “We’re entering our second year of franchising with a clear roadmap for growth and a strong pipeline of opportunities. From new restaurant openings and franchise recruitment to digital innovation and operational enhancements, we’re investing in every area of the business to ensure Zambrero remains an attractive proposition for both customers and franchise partners as we continue our nationwide expansion.”

The following month, Zambrero franchisees James Fleck, Michelle Jelfs and Sarah Preston acquired two Birmingham restaurants from the company. The trio, who are also Zambrero UK’s development agents for the West Midlands and south west, took on its sites in the city’s Colmore Row and Bullring centre, which they will operate through their Maverick Restaurants business.

It follows fellow Zambrero UK development agents Damian Bennett and Dawn Catherall, who signed up as development agents for Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire at the end of last year, becoming franchisees in April through their DCUB3D business - with their first restaurant opening in September 2026, in Rochdale.

Why franchise with Zambrero

• ✓Total investment is £150,000 to £350,000, including franchise fees, varying by location, restaurant format and size. On going fees are royalties of 7% of net sales and marketing and advertising of 3% of net sales. A Zambrero franchise offers multiple revenue streams, streamlined operations and lower capital expenditure. It also offers a turnkey business model, restaurant opening support, comprehensive training, operation manuals, innovative and scalable systems, marketing and brand power and ongoing support. Its flexible footprint allows Zambrero to operate in a variety of locations, with sizes ranging from 300 square-foot kiosks to 4,000 square-foot drive-thrus.
• ✓“When you join the Zambrero family, you’re joining Australia’s largest Mexican restaurant franchise, with both on-the-ground support and a dedicated support office team to set up your new business for success,” the company said. Formats are kiosk (small with shared seating), strip (high street dine-in restaurants), drive-thru (for walk-ins or drive-thru) and bespoke (university campuses etc).