Dive Brief:
- Applegreen plans to spend over $1 billion to expand its travel center business in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland over the next five years, the company announced last week.
- The investment will include new food-focused travel plazas in the U.S., more electric vehicle charging stations across all three countries, and an expansion of Applegreen’s proprietary foodservice operations in Ireland and Welcome Break motorway business in the U.K.
- Dublin-based Applegreen, which has nearly 600 locations across all three countries, has already invested over $1 billion in the U.S. since entering the states in 2014. Today, it has about 165 sites in 12 states across the East Coast and Midwest.
Dive Insight:
Applegreen’s investments in the U.S. in recent years have been focused on remodeling its travel centers on the New York State Thruway, New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, as well as growing its EV charging footprint in New York.
Although those projects will continue, Applegreen’s leadership views food as the main element of its business in the U.S., where it operates restaurants such as Burger King, Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Starbucks, Dunkin, Panera Bread and Panda Express. Traditional fuel accounts for less than 20% of Applegreen’s gross profit., the company said.
Applegreen plans to open larger, food-focused travel plazas in the U.S. in the coming years — mainly on the East Coast — as part of the $1 billion expenditure, according to the announcement. This growth will come from organic builds as well as acquisitions.
A spokesperson from Applegreen could not comment on what these larger locations in the U.S. will include that its current travel plazas don’t.
“We are fortunate in that we have a unique position in the U.S. market, as we are a highly experienced operator of food businesses, convenience stores, EV charging infrastructure, and traditional gas filing stations,” Applegreen co-founder and Group Chief Executive Joe Barrett said in the announcement.
Applegreen’s latest investment plan comes on the heels of a successful year for the company, whose gross profits grew by 9% to surpass $1 billion in 2023. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by almost 7% last year.
“As we continue to bring new sites on board, upgrade some of our existing locations, and expand our EV charging network, we expect significant growth in the business in Ireland, the UK and the United States,” Barrett said.
