Wingstop UK founder, 35, reveals the one 'life-changing' thing he did that set him on the path to £400m fortune
- Entrepreneur Tom Grogan, 34, was kicked out of sixth form for bad behaviour
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One of the three British co-founders of chicken brand Wingstop has revealed how one single moment - a simple Google search - changed his life forever.
Tom Grogan, who brought the viral US chicken brand across the Atlantic in 2018 alongside his business partners Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin, is now a multi-millionaire after selling Wingstop UK to private equity investors Sixth Street in December.
The businessman, who grew up in a flat in Solihull in the West Midlands with his parents and brother, now lives in a luxury villa in Dubai and is reaping the rewards of a business deal that was subject to a frenzied bidding war.
Wingstop started life in 1994 as a small buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant. Founded by Antonio Swad in Garland, Texas, it served up marinated chicken wings with flavours such as Louisiana rub, Atomic and garlic parmesan.
The formula proved as hot as the sauces and there's now more than 1,500 restaurants worldwide in places such as the UAE, Malaysia and Mexico - and high profile stars such as Stormzy, KSI, and Latto have all appeared in collaborations for the brand.
That Grogan's now unlikely to ever worry about money again - at the grand old age of 35 - wasn't always on the cards.
In an interview with The Times, he revealed how he was kicked out of his sixth form college over 'bad behaviour' and a first attempt at a sales job with a local tyre dealership quickly faltered.
Wingstop UK founder Tom Grogan (pictured), grew up in a two-bed flat with his brother and parents in Solihull - and was kicked out of sixth form. He's now a multi-millionaire following the December sale of the UK arm of the chicken brand to private equity firm Sixth Street
The British wing of the company now has 57 outlets and employs about 2,500 staff; Grogan says sending a 'cold' email after watching American rapper Rick Ross talking about Wingstop changed his life forever
The brand started in Texas in 1994 but has found a huge following - with fans of fried chicken loving flavours such as Louisiana rub, Atomic and garlic parmesan
A labouring job followed and his fortunes began to change after he was mentored by his friend's father, Tony Smith, after the pair met at the gym - but it would be years later that a moment online would change his path with destiny.
After eventually landing an internship at Dragon Den's star James Caan's private equity firm in central London, Grogan's confidence grew and he struck out alone, running his own successful but 'high-risk, high-stress' property business in central London at the age of just 26.
It was while casually browsing the internet in his office that Grogan came across US rapper Rick Ross promoting Wingstop.
He explained: 'I’m sitting in the office in Mayfair and I hear this guy rap about Wingstop. That leads me to Google ‘Wingstop’.
'I see they have no representation in Europe and I fired off a cold email.'
Despite having no previous experience in the fast food industry - he admits he still has 'no interest' in hospitality, he joined forces with two colleagues he'd met during his time in property, Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin, and the trio made a case for setting up the British arm of the firm.
Six months (and plenty of negotiations) after Grogan fired off that initial email, the first branch of the fast food chain opened in central London.
There are now 57 franchised sites across the UK and employing 2,500 staff.
Grogan has previously spoken about the importance of self-belief, saying: 'I think you need to back yourself and take risks. Leaving Birmingham to go to London was a risk, but it paid off massively.'
His colleague Mr Sahota, also a former property developer, was quoted by Management Today as saying that understanding how young people interact with fast food was key, saying: 'We felt that no other restaurant brand had really brought together retail and restaurant and really honed in on that Gen Z/millennial audience.'
The UK founders identified a target audience as consumers aged between 16 and 34, interested in sport, TikTok and pop and rap music - with many of their employees falling within a similar bracket.
Grogan recalls of that 'on spec' email to Wingstop in the US, saying: 'We were scalpel sharp in that vision from day one.'
He characterised their approach when suggesting a UK launch as: 'Essentially, we love the product, we like the logo, we want to change everything else.'
He added: 'Under no exaggeration, we met up to 50 investors when we were pitching the concept of bringing Wingstop to the UK - 49 investors said no.
'If we'd have stopped at that point, Wingstop UK wouldn't be with us today.'
The deal in December marked one of the largest takeovers of a restaurant brand in this country.
The three men behind fried chicken chain Wingstop's UK arm cashed in - to the sum of £400m - when the business was sold in December. Pictured, left to right: Saul Lewin, Tom Grogan and Herman Sahota
The first of the company's British restaurants opened in 2019 in Cambridge Circus in central London, near the West End and Soho
The company currently employs 2,500 staff and is the fastest-growing restaurant brand in the UK. The Cardiff branch is pictured
Among fans of the firm is Croydon-raised, Brit Award-winning rapper Stormzy
Reality TV star Kylie Jenner (right) is among fans seen tucking into Wingstop's fried chicken
A further 20 UK branches are now in the pipeline, including dine-in restaurants in Swansea, Newcastle, Lakeside shopping centre in Essex, Streatham in south London and Cardigan Fields in Leeds.
The fast food chain will also open a kitchen in Brighton that will be used for takeaway deliveries.
As well as chicken wings, the chain's menu also includes chicken tenders, boneless chicken, burgers, churros, loaded fries, combos and platters.
The firm has pursued commercial tie-ups with sportswear brands such as JD Sports and Footasylum, while also hosting live music acts at its branches.
Mr Grogan said: 'A lot of the content doesn't necessarily resonate with us, but it most certainly does with our consumer, and we've got a good sense-check of trends in the market through our internal team.'
He has also credited the trio's real estate background and expertise as helpful, in identifying the most promising locations when expanding the company.
Figures released by Deliveroo earlier this year revealed that Wingstop has become one of the UK's most popular fast food providers - with its option of eight boneless wings the nation's bestselling dish and ranked second worldwide.
