Famous Brands (formerly known as Steers Group) is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n-based conglomerate predominately dealing in

fast casual A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, is a restaurant that does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast-food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is a ...

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

, and is currently headquartered in

Midrand Midrand is a town in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion, Gauteng, Centurion and Sandton. Formerly an independent municipality, Midrand now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History ...

. Founded in 1960, the company operates around 3,000 locations across 30 countries, and listed on the

JSE Limited JSE Limited (previously the JSE Securities Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange) is the largest stock exchange in Africa. It is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, after it moved from downtown Johannesburg in 2000. In 2003 ...

in 1994. It is a level 1

BBBEE Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) is a policy of the South African government which aims to facilitate broader participation in the economy by black people. A form of affirmative action, it is intended especially to redress the inequalities cre ...

contributor. The company is also involved in food and beverage manufacturing, logistics, and retail, in relation to its restaurant outlets.

History

Founded by George Halamandress in 1960, Famous Brands was originally known as

Steers Steers may refer to: * Steer (cow) or bullock, castrated male cattle * Steers (restaurant), a South African restaurant chain * Steers (surname) * Steers (island), a former island of Indonesia * Kansas City Steers, American former basketball team ...

. Halamandress had previously created the original Milky Lane ice cream parlours, followed in quick succession by the first South African steakhouse. In 1999, Steers Group acquired Debonairs Pizza. In August 2003, Famous Brands acquired Pleasure Foods, which included the South African master franchise license for Wimpy for R150.6 million. In February 2007, Famous Brands acquired a majority stake in Wimpy. In July 2009, Famous Brands acquired

Mugg & Bean Mugg & Bean is a full-service coffee-themed restaurant franchise, founded in Cape Town, South Africa. The restaurant chain was founded in 1996 by Ben Filmalter after a visit to a Chicago coffee shop in the early 1990s inspired him to open a s ...

. In September 2016, Famous Brands acquired

Gourmet Burger Kitchen Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) is a chain of luxury restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland specialising in gourmet burgers. There is a subtle Kiwi theme throughout the restaurants, a reference to the heritage of the original owners. ...

in the United Kingdom from Capricorn Ventures for £120 million. In October 2020, Gourmet Burger Kitchen was sold to

Boparan Restaurant Group Boparan Restaurant Group is a British operator of restaurant businesses and food production facilities, based in Birmingham. It is owned by Ranjit Singh Boparan and his wife, Baljinder Kaur Boparan. The company owns restaurant chains such as Gira ...

for an undisclosed sum.

Operations

Famous Brands' operations comprise 4 pillars - restaurants, manufacturing, logistics, and retail. As of 2025, the group operated 9 logistics sites, 11 manufacturing facilities, and sold a total of 188 products. As per the group's February 2025 financial statements, it had 2,979 restaurants in 30 countries. Of these, 2,626 were located in

. A further 224 were located throughout the SADC, 68 across the rest of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and 61 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. As of mid-2025, Famous Brands owned and operated the following restaurant chains in its mainstream category: * Debonairs Pizza (868 locations) * Steers (735 locations) * Wimpy (539 locations) * Mugg & Bean (322 locations) * Fishaways (242 locations) * Milky Lane (132 locations) * Signature Brands (122 locations) * Mr Bigg's (13 locations) * Other (6 locations) The group operates numerous small, upmarket chains under its Signature Brands portfolio, including Lupa, Mythos, Paul, Salsa Mexican Grill, Turn ‘n Tender, Vovo Telo, and House of Coffees.

References

External links

Official website
{{Witwatersrand companies Companies based in Johannesburg Companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Food and drink companies of South Africa