The operator of 800 Burger King stores in Russia will not close down, says the owner of Burger King. This comes after they have been demanded to stop trading after the invasion of Ukraine.
Restaurant Brands International (RBI) owns Burger King. They say that last week they stopped all supply chain, operational, and marketing assistance for the Russian operation.
Because of a complex legal contract with its primary franchisee, Alexander Kolobov, RBI hasn’t been able to suspend operations directly.
“There are no legal clauses that allow us to unilaterally change the contract or allow any one of the partners to simply walk away or overturn the entire agreement. This is exactly why we say it’s a complicated legal process,” stated David Shear, the president of RBI. Shear added that trying to “force termination now would require the support of Russian authorities.”
For now, RBI is trying to sell its 15% ownership in the Russian operation. Any earnings from the business and its ownership portion are now being sent to the United Nations’ refugee agency.
