Gregorio Jiménez, founder and executive chairman of Restaurant Brands Europe (RBE), has acquired the stake in RBE held by Cinven together with an investor consortium, giving him control of 51 per cent of the company. RBE is the master franchisee for Burger King in Spain and other southern European markets. The purchase price is reported to be around €2.3 billion. The company and the parties involved confirmed the agreement on 6 November 2026. Across the industry, it is considered the largest transaction to date in the Spanish restaurant sector.
The deal is being financed through a €1.4 billion loan package. The syndicate is made up of Santander CIB, JPMorgan and BBVA. Santander CIB and JPMorgan also acted as financial advisers to the buyer consortium, with A&O Shearman providing legal advice. Restaurant Brands International, the global brand holding company, is supporting the new ownership structure, according to consistent statements from those involved.
Alongside Jiménez, the buyer group includes the food group Grupo Costa, Point Break Capital Management as well as private investors, including Santiago Jiménez and Fernando Núñez, who represents Grupo Ibérica. Details of the minority stakes and governance arrangements have not been fully disclosed.
RBE has expanded significantly in recent years. According to the company, revenue has risen substantially since 2017; reports put revenue at 1.541 billion euros in 2025, up from 282 million euros in 2017. Over the same period, operating profit (EBITDA) rose from 52 million to 245 million euros. This performance provides the financial backdrop to the acquisition and reflects Burger King’s accelerated expansion in Spain.
For employees, franchise partners and suppliers, the change of ownership initially means continuity: Jiménez will continue to lead the company and has reaffirmed its existing strategy. At the same time, the high level of debt financing increases the importance of future refinancing and makes investment decisions sensitive to interest-rate and liquidity conditions. No specific statements on staffing, investment or prices have been made so far, and these will depend on agreements between the new shareholders.
The transaction follows a sale process by Cinven that had been in preparation for some time. With the majority stake now agreed to change hands, Jiménez is consolidating his influence over the system’s continued expansion in Spain. Observers see this as a sign of sustained interest from international financiers in Spain’s out-of-home market, but also of lenders imposing stricter requirements on cash flows and margins in an environment shaped by cost inflation and competitive pressure.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).