VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 25, 2021 /CNW/ - A&W Revenue Royalties
Income Fund (the "Fund") TRADING SYMBOL: (TSX: AW.UN)
and A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. ("Food
Services") announce that Food Services has entered into a
non-binding term sheet reflecting an agreement in principle (the
"Agreement") with UK-based Pret A Manger (Europe) Limited ("Pret"), which sets
forth the general terms and conditions of a proposed Country
Agreement with Pret that would grant Food Services master
franchisor rights to Canada (the
"Country Agreement").
Pursuant to the Agreement, Food Services will be granted the
exclusive right to use the Pret brand in Canada for a two-year pilot (the "Trial
Phase") during which Food Services will introduce the Pret
brand within A&W restaurants in select markets in Canada.
If the Trial Phase is successful, Food Services will be granted the
exclusive right to expand the Pret brand across Canada (the "Expansion Phase")
pursuant to an agreed development plan. The proposed
exclusive Canadian rights to be granted to Food Services during
both the Trial Phase and Expansion Phase remains subject to the
negotiation and completion of the definitive Country Agreement,
which is subject to Board approval.
Currently, the Fund, through its investment in A&W
Trade Marks Inc. ("Trade Marks"), is entitled to receive royalties
from Food Services on the sales of the 994 A&W restaurants in
the royalty pool (the "Royalty"). This Royalty will also
apply to the Pret products sold within A&W restaurants during
the trial Phase, to the extent such restaurants are in the royalty
pool. Should the Trial Phase prove successful the Royalty will also
be earned by the Fund on the sales of any Pret products made within
A&W restaurants thereafter.
ABOUT THE FUND
The Fund is a limited purpose trust established to invest in
Trade Marks, which through its interest in A&W Trade Marks
Limited Partnership (the Partnership), owns the A&W trade-marks
used in the A&W quick service restaurant business in
Canada. In return for licensing Food Services to use its
trade-marks, Trade Marks (through the Partnership) receives
royalties equal to 3% of the gross sales reported by A&W
restaurants in the Royalty Pool.
About A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.
A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. is a corporation
amalgamated under the laws of Canada and is 100 per cent
Canadian owned and is one of the strongest brand names in the
Canadian foodservice industry. A&W is the nation's second
largest hamburger restaurant company with over 1,000 locations
coast-to-coast. A&W Restaurants feature famous trade-marked
menu items such as The Burger Family®, Chubby Chicken®, and A&W
Root Beer®. For more information, please
visit www.aw.ca.
About Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger is a sandwich and coffee chain commonly referred
to as Pret and based in the United
Kingdom. The first shop opened in London in 1986. Pret's sandwiches, salads and
wraps are freshly made each day in shop kitchens using quality
ingredients and all coffees are 100% organic. Pret currently has
more than 450 shops and operates in the UK, US, Hong Kong, France, Dubai, Switzerland, Brussels, Singapore and Germany. For more information, please visit
https://www.pret.co.uk/en-GB
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this news release may contain
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws in Canada
(forward-looking information). The words "anticipates", "believes",
"budgets", "could", "estimates", "expects", "forecasts", "intends",
"may", "might", "plans", "projects", "schedule", "should", "will",
"would" and similar expressions are often intended to identify
forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking
information contains these identifying words. Specific
forward-looking statements include statements with respect to the
expectation that: Food Services will be granted master franchisor
rights to Canada, Pret products
will be made available at various A&W restaurants across
Canada, Food Services will receive
an exclusive license to use the Pret brand in Canada with further development rights, the
definitive Country Agreement between the parties will be reached
and that the Fund will earn the Royalty on the sales of Pret
products made within A&W restaurants.
The forward-looking information is based on assumptions that
management considered reasonable at the time it was prepared. The
forward-looking information is subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the results anticipated by the forward-looking
information.
SOURCE A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund