Dubai's Just Falafel opens first store in London

Dubai-based restaurant chain Just Falafel has opened its first store outside the Middle East in London’s Covent Garden, amid plans to open 200 outlets in the UK over the next five years.

“With our central kitchen now fully operational, two additional London locations under construction, and a further ten-plus stores in our pipeline, Just Falafel plans to satisfy the UK’s growing appetite for fresh, healthy dining choices in 2013,” Just Falafel’s CEO Fadi Malas said in a statement.

“Just Falafel plans to achieve at least ten percent of that objective this year with the opening of 20 stores; with Cambridge, Exeter and other markets currently in development,” the statement added.

"We are receiving more than 100 franchise enquiries each week. The challenge is in securing suitable storefronts to meet our expansion objectives,” Malas said in October.

Co-founder Malas is an entrepreneur with family ties to England as well as Beirut. The brand, which has previously said it may list its shares in the UAE, said full-year profit in 2011 was AED7m ($1.9m).