Chanticleer Holdings is on a quest to build a better burger

• Operates 62 restaurant locations in the US
• Signed a letter of intent to acquire a restaurant chain with five locations on the East Coast
• Spent the Spring forging partnerships with companies such as Beyond Meat and DoorDash

Chanticleer Holdings (NASDAQ:BURG) loves a good burger. So much so that the company went out and bought a series of regional fast casual burger chains.

The Charlotte-based company owns and operates Little Big Burger, BGR The Burger Joint and American Burger Co. In addition to what it calls its “Better Burger” portfolio, Chanticleer owns Just Fresh, a chain that makes sandwiches and wraps, as well as eight locations of the iconic Hooters franchise.

All told, that’s 62 US locations, which generated $41 million in revenue in 2018.

Inflection Points

Chanticleer isn’t done beefing up its portfolio. The company has signed a letter of intent to acquire another restaurant with five locations on the East Coast for $10 million base consideration and $7.5 million in cash consideration.

To fund the acquisition, the company is offering $16 million worth of shares of its common stock in a rights offering at $1 a share to shareholders and certain warrant holders.

The company has spent the spring forging partnerships with companies across related industries. In April, it signed an exclusive deal with delivery service DoorDash. A month later, it reached an agreement to bring Beyond Meat Inc’s (NASDAQ:BYND) plant-based burger to more than 50 of its locations.

Its other partners include supply chain analytics firm Food Service Industry Consultants, customer engagement company Thanx, the scheduling platform 7Shifts and ordering software platform Restaurant Revolution Technologies.

Outlook

CEO and Chairman Michael Pruitt expects 2019 to be key to the company’s growth phase.

In the past eight months, the company has tapped Fred Glick as president and Patrick Harkleroad as CEO. Together, the revamped leadership team is ready to take Chanticleer to the next level.

“In 2018 we executed on exactly what we promised early in the year, nearly doubling our Little Big Burger footprint.” Pruitt said in an SEC filing. “I believe the best days are just ahead for Chanticleer.”

In the first quarter of 2019, the company brought in $10 million in revenue and narrowed its losses year-over-year to $1.7 million from $2.4 million. It opened another Little Big Burger location, and expects to open another two more this year.

By the end of the year, Chanticleer plans to have 73 stores generating $56.9 million in revenue.

Contact Andrew Kessel at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel

Story by ProactiveInvestors