Leading pizza franchise, Papa John’s, has announced new openings in Harpenden and Leighton Buzzard. Abdul Sattar Karami, who has opened both franchised pizza delivery outlets, bought his first Papa John’s at the end of last year and also runs stores in Hitchin, St Albans, Watford and Hemel-Hempstead.

“I knew I wanted to be in the food business,” explains Abdul. “I looked at several other companies before choosing Papa John’s. I wanted to be able to provide a superior product with excellent customer service and these key ingredients are what the franchise offers. I also wanted to have the chance to expand and this is possible with Papa John’s. If all goes well I would like to own many more outlets. I think 40 is a nice round number!

“Up until now, I have taken over established stores but both Harpenden and Leighton Buzzard are new outlets,” continues Abdul. “Mark Rodgers at HSBC Franchise Finance had absolute belief in the brand and arranged finance for the purchase of the stores. The opportunity is there to capitalise and grow as the Papa John’s concept becomes even more popular throughout the UK and I’m looking forward to being involved with that expansion.”

Papa John’s is the only branded pizza chain to use only 100% fresh dough, giving a better natural flavour and the company’s unique tomato sauce is made from the best Californian tomatoes, picked and packed from vine to can in just six hours.

“The greatest challenge I have faced so far is the acquisition of the Hitchin store as the previous owner had built up the business and quite rightly knew its value. However, we eventually reached a mutually agreeable deal, and the buy-out will pay dividends in the long term. My team did lots of promotion following the change of hands and within a few weeks, takings were up 100%. I am really looking forward to building my portfolio of Papa John’s stores over the next few years!”

Papa John’s is growing and is looking for other enthusiastic franchisees to become part of its success story. Currently Papa John’s is offering the following franchisee incentives: for new stores opening in Wales, The Midlands, North East, The North West and Scotland a royalty break is offered if opened before the end of 2014. Papa John’s is also supplying free equipment, plus contribution towards marketing spend for the store opening launch. The whole package could result in savings of 50k for your first Papa John’s store. These deals are only available for 2014 and are limited, so first come first served!

Papa John’s is one of the largest pizza companies in the world and has opportunities for franchisees throughout the UK including the key locations of the South East, Yorkshire, Manchester, West Midlands, East Midlands, South West, North East, Wales & Scotland.