KFC Norway will become a reality after the Estonian company Apollo Group agreed to acquire the Norwegian fried chicken chain Fly Chicken. Most of its 19 restaurants are expected to be converted into KFC outlets, while further locations will open over the next five years.
The acquisition will introduce the American fast-food brand to the Norwegian market for the first time. Apollo Group plans to invest approximately €20 million in the purchase, conversion of existing restaurants and subsequent expansion of the chain.
The transaction remains subject to the usual formal approvals and completion procedures, according to a company announcement reported by GlobeNewswire.
KFC Norway will start from Fly Chicken’s restaurants
Apollo Group will acquire Fly Chicken from Fly Holding AS, whose principal owners include the Sandvik family, investor Knut Nikolai Tønnevold Ugland and Fly Chicken chief executive Ronny Gjøse.
Founded in 2018, Fly Chicken has expanded to 19 locations across Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Lillestrøm and several other Norwegian cities. The company specialises in fried chicken, sandwiches, sauces and loaded fries, with sales through restaurants, takeaway services and delivery platforms.
Most of these restaurants will gradually be converted into KFC outlets. Apollo also intends to establish additional locations during the five years following the acquisition.
The company has not yet disclosed which restaurant will become Norway’s first KFC or when it will open. Gjøse told NRK that locations and approximate opening dates would be announced as agreements are finalised.
In Bergen, Fly Chicken currently operates restaurants at the Galleriet shopping centre and at Bergen Airport Flesland. However, Gjøse told TV 2 that the airport restaurant would not be converted to KFC.
Apollo Group is expanding its Nordic restaurant business
Norway will become the fifth market in which Apollo Group operates restaurants under a KFC franchise agreement. The Estonian company already runs 38 KFC restaurants in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.
Apollo Group is active across the Baltic and Nordic entertainment and hospitality sectors. Its portfolio includes cinemas, bookstores and restaurant brands such as KFC, Vapiano, Lido, MySushi, Blender and IceCafe.
The company described Norway as an attractive market because of its high purchasing power, stable economy and developed restaurant-delivery sector. It also sees room for growth in the fried chicken category, where KFC has so far lacked a direct presence.
Apollo Group chief executive Toomas Tiivel said the acquisition would strengthen the company’s position in Northern Europe by combining its experience in operating international franchises with Fly Chicken’s knowledge of Norwegian consumers.
Fly Chicken’s management and employees will remain
Fly Chicken reported revenue of approximately €14 million in the previous financial year and employs more than 170 people.
According to the companies, the acquisition is not expected to result in changes for employees. Ronny Gjøse, who has more than 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry, will remain chief executive and oversee the conversion of the restaurants and KFC’s further development in Norway.
Gjøse said Fly Chicken had built a nationwide fried chicken business with a relatively small organisation and that the agreement would provide access to Apollo Group’s financial resources, franchise experience and international infrastructure.
The acquisition therefore represents more than the opening of a few new restaurants. Instead of starting from scratch, KFC will enter Norway through an established network, existing employees and a brand already familiar with the local market.
Norway was one of the remaining gaps in KFC’s European network
International fast-food chains have operated in Norway for decades. McDonald’s opened its first Norwegian restaurant in Oslo in 1983 and now operates dozens of locations across the country, while Burger King, Subway and Domino’s are also established in the market.
KFC, however, had remained absent despite operating in neighbouring Sweden, Denmark and Finland and across much of Europe. Its arrival fills one of the more noticeable gaps in the company’s Nordic coverage.
The conversion strategy could allow KFC to expand more quickly than it would through individual openings. At the same time, the process will determine how much of Fly Chicken’s Norwegian identity survives once most of its restaurants adopt the international brand.
The first locations and opening dates have yet to be confirmed. Once the acquisition is completed, Apollo Group’s planned €20 million investment is expected to make KFC a visible new competitor in Norway’s fast-food and delivery market.
