Raising Cane’s: Billionaire’s KFC rival and TikTok sensation to open in the UK
Raising Cane’s, the US fast food giant which has become a sensation on TikTok, has confirmed plans to open its first UK location next year.
The business is to launch its flagship site at 21-22 Coventry St in London’s West End towards the end of 2026. An exact opening date has yet to be announced.
The location is planned to be the first of up to five initial entries inside the capital and across the UK which it hopes to open in the months following.
The site chosen is a former Angus Steakhouse restaurant and is located between Piccadilly
Circus and Leicester Square.
Raising Cane’s was founded under 1996 by now-billionaire Todd Graves and Craig Silvey.
The business is named after Graves’s dog, a yellow Labrador, and has more than 950 locations across the US, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Raising Cane’s turned over $5.1bn (£3.7bn) during its latest financial year and employs more than 65,000 people.
In May, Bloomberg reported that Graves’ fortune now stands at $11.5bn thanks to rising sales at his brand.
In recent years, the brand has found fame on TikTok and has amassed more than five million followers while gaining support from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Post Malone.
Rumours of Raising Cane’s opening its first UK site first emerged on TikTok towards the start of 2025 after the business registered a new entity with Companies House.
The company is currently hiring for a president of its new UK arm who will oversee the business operations and support centre functions from a London-based office.
Raising Cane’s hails ‘incredible demand’
Raising Cane’s co-CEO and COO AJ Kumaran, said: “Bringing Raising Cane’s to the UK has been a dream of ours for many years and we’re excited to officially open the doors to our UK flagship late next year.
“We love the vibrant and eclectic atmosphere of Piccadilly Circus and are looking forward to marking this milestone with a flagship in the heart of London.
“With more than 950 restaurants across the US and Middle East, Europe presents an excellent expansion opportunity as we embark on this next phase of growth, and we’re excited to begin that growth with the UK.”
Graves added: “I’m thrilled to finally be opening in the UK late next year.
“We receive more requests to come to the UK than anywhere else in the world, so I started looking at real estate with the team a few years ago and began identifying top locations to open Raising Cane’s across London and the UK, including London’s West End and other prime central and suburban locations across London including areas around The Strand, Oxford Circus, Paddington and South Bank as well as Drive-Thru locations in greater London and beyond.
“It has always been a dream of mine to bring Cane’s to the UK and I’m excited to officially kick off this growth with the opening of our UK flagship.
“London is one of my favorite places and I’ve always enjoyed visiting with my family.”
US giant to face stiff competition
While fully established in the US and Middle East, Raising Cane’s will face tough competition when it tries to gain a foothold in the UK next year.
That rivalry will only become more intense after KFC announced a £1.5bn plan in May to create more than 7,000 jobs in the UK and Ireland over the next five years and open a further 500 restaurants by 2035.
At the time, KFC said £466m will go towards opening new locations focusing on building flagship sites and drive-thrus in “key locations” such as Ireland and North West England.
Part of that figure will also be spent on upgrading more than 200 existing KFC restaurants – 20 per cent of the brand’s estate.
KFC said its plans to create more than 7,000 jobs over the next five years will see it invest £583m.
The brand added that it will spend £404m to “strengthen KFC’s long-standing relationships with its suppliers and help businesses across the UK&I continue to grow”.
At the start of 2025, fast-growing chains Wingstop and Popeyes each announced major plans to expand further across the UK and create thousands of jobs.
Popeyes’ proposals included almost doubling its footprint in the UK with the opening of more than 45 restaurants.
It added that it expects to create around 2,500 jobs and it will target sales of more than £200m in 2025.
At the same time, the UK franchise of chicken chain Wingstop announced plans to open at least 20 new sites in the UK this year, creating hundreds of jobs.
The proposals came a month after Wingstop’s UK arm was taken over by a US private equity firm, for more than £400m.