Leading Pizza franchise, Papa John’s, has announced the launch of its new Prestwick/Ayr store. The store’s opening will coincide with the end of ‘Scottish Franchising Week’ on 5 May, with the official grand opening and an exceptional give-away of 200 free pizzas taking place on 11 May.

The Prestwick/Ayr outlet is part of a ten store Scottish development plan being pushed forward by new franchisee Paul McDermott, who opened his first Papa John’s outlet in Rutherglen in October.

“I became curious about Papa John’s through my property company,” confirms Paul McDermott. “I am also a happy Papa John’s customer and had already identified that the company had the best product in the market place. Papa John’s has a strong brand and a growing world-wide presence, and after some research, the opportunity to become part of Papa John’s expansion plans led me to buying my first outlet in Rutherglen last year.

“As a businessman, I don’t have a background in fast-food and so I work closely with a Papa John’s development manager and experienced store managers to run the outlets on a day-to-day basis,” continues McDermott. “We now employ 20 people in Rutherglen and will have a further 17 in Prestwick/Ayr. My plan is to expand and open ten stores in the region over the next five years.

“We now have outlets in 33 countries over the world,” confirms Anthony Round, business development manager, Papa John’s. “Expansion in Scotland represents an exciting opportunity for our rapidly growing brand and we are delighted to welcome Paul McDermott to our franchising network as an integral part of our expansion plans.”

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