SUBWAY was founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca. Since opening the first store in Connecticut, SUBWAY has grown to become a multi-billion business with over 32,500 stores in 91 countries. In the UK and Ireland alone there are over 1500 SUBWAY franchises.

SUBWAY was voted the number one franchise opportunity by Entrepreneur Magazine in 2009; the 16th time it has been awarded this. SUBWAY was also voted in 2008 the number one sandwich provider by the British Sandwich Association.

The history of SUBWAY in the UK and Ireland

• SUBWAY opened its first store in Brighton in 1996
• Fred DeLuca carried out his first media tour of the UK in 2001 when SUBWAY reached the 50 store mark. At this point he announced the goal of over 2,000 stores by 2010
• In 2002, SUBWAY opens its 100th store in the UK and Ireland
• At the end of 2003, there were 200 stores in the UK and Ireland
• In July 2003 the SUBWAY chain became the largest specialist sandwich chain in the UK and Ireland, according to a report by Mintel

• By mid 2004, there were 300 stores and by the end of 2004 there were 350 storesv
• By February 2005, there were 400 stores and by mid 2005, the SUBWAY chain hit the 500th store mark with the opening of the store at Bristol International Airport
• The first national TV advertising campaign, ‘Sub of the Day’ was launched in January 2006
• In 2006, the 600th store opened in Huntingdon, home town of the Earl of Sandwich
• In August 2006, the SUBWAY chain announced that it had more stores open in the UK and Ireland than Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut
• In July 2007, the SUBWAY chain opened its 1,000th store
• In 2008, the SUBWAY chain announced that it had more stores open in the UK and Ireland than McDonalds
• SUBWAY supports the Department of Health’s 5 A DAY programme – by choosing all the salad ingredients for your Sub you get one of the five servings of fruit and veg recommended by the Department of Health
• The SUBWAY continues to expand at a phenomenal rate in the UK & Ireland, with an average of five stores opening every week. In 2010, SUBWAY has 32,781 stores in 91 countries. 1505 are in the UK and Ireland

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