United Kingdom
In July 2005, the group entered the UK market as a franchisee of Burger King.[19] In November 2007, the group acquired the Maison Blanc patisserie chain of outlets and its Park Royal production facility, rescuing it from Lyndale Foods who later collapsed into administration.[20] In May 2008, alongside Alan Yau, it would create the fast-casual Chinese noodle bar concept, Cha Cha Moon; which opened its inaugural location in London's Kingly Court.[21] A second Cha Cha Moon location was attempted in the declining Whiteleys Shopping Centre, however Kout created the Cafe Licious, Chi Wok and Pasta Rossa brands to replace it, in an attempt to attract a wider audience.[22] Later in 2008, Kout opened its fast-casual Italian dining concept called Kitchen Italia in the Westfield Shopping Centre and Covent Garden.[23] In June 2012, the group added KFC to its UK portfolio, acquiring a number of locations.[24] In March 2013, the Kitchen Italia restaurants would cease, citing low trade.[25]
In August 2013, the group acquired the Little Chef restaurant chain, alongside the trademarks for the former Happy Eater and Coffee Tempo! brands, purchased from private-equity firm RCapital for £15 million. The group were reported to be the only bidder who wanted to retain the Little Chef brand, as other bidders wanted to redevelop the sites.[26] This purchase also included a number of Burger King locations which were attached to the Little Chef properties, with the group continuing to add Burger King and Subway locations to the sites after its purchase. In 2013 and 2014, the group acquired a number of Costa Coffee franchises.[27][28] In 2016, it trademarked the name Shi Chang, but did not use it.[29]
In January 2016, the group began to show signs of leaving the UK, first by closing its Whiteleys location, and then selling Cha Cha Moon's Kingly Court building lease later that September.[30][31] In December 2016, there were talks Patisserie Valerie would purchase Maison Blanc from Kout Food Group, however these talks fell through, with Maison Blanc closing down completely a few months later.[32][33] In February 2017, Euro Garages purchased the locations used by the Little Chef chain for £16 million, which it would then convert into its franchise partner brands by October 2018, with Kout Food Group retaining ownership of the Little Chef brand.[34][35] In September 2017, the group sold its KFC franchises to The Herbert Group.[36]
