US sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s has confirmed its first UK restaurant will open in Soho, London, later this year. The opening follows a franchise agreement signed in January 2026 under which the brand’s own founder aims to grow Jersey Mike’s to around 400 sites across the UK and Ireland.
Jersey Mike’s was founded in 1956 in New Jersey and bought by a 17 year old Peter Cancro in 1975, who grew it into a chain of more than 3,200 sites across North America, largely through franchising. Blackstone acquired the company in a deal reported at close to $8 billion in 2024, with Cancro moving from chief executive to chairman in April 2025 while remaining a significant shareholder. For its UK and Ireland expansion, Cancro himself is the named franchisee, operating through a newly formed company, JM Submarines UK Ltd, incorporated in London in July 2025.
Founder becomes his own UK franchisee
The UK and Ireland expansion was announced on 12 January 2026 through a franchise agreement naming JM Submarines UK Ltd as master franchisee, led personally by Peter Cancro. Companies House records show the company was incorporated on 11 July 2025, with Cancro appointed as a director on 22 January 2026 alongside co-director Lisa Anne Morgan. “This marks a pivotal milestone in Jersey Mike’s growth journey as we expand into the European market. We could not ask for a better partner than Peter to lead this market expansion,” said Charlie Morrison, chief executive of Jersey Mike’s.
Good to know
A master franchisee holds the rights to develop, and often to sub-franchise, a brand across a whole country or region, rather than running a single site. Here, the company holding that role for the UK and Ireland is controlled by Jersey Mike’s own founder, a different arrangement from an independent operator taking on the licence at arm’s length.
A crowded market for US sub chains
Jersey Mike’s enters a UK sandwich market long dominated by Subway, which has traded in the UK since 1996 and runs close to 2,100 shops, according to trade press estimates. Other US sub chains have struggled to establish themselves here: Quiznos once reached around 30 UK shops before falling back to a single site, Potbelly operated in the UK between 2015 and 2017, and Jon Smith Subs traded from 2019 to 2022. Which Wich currently runs three UK shops. Jersey Mike’s initial rollout is reported to cover four London sites, beginning with Soho, a market covered more broadly in L’Express Franchise’s guide to what counts as a franchise in the UK.
What the franchise agreement covers
Neither Jersey Mike’s own announcement nor the trade coverage of it discloses a per-unit investment figure, a franchise fee or a royalty percentage for the UK agreement. Andy Skehan, president of international at Jersey Mike’s, framed the deal around the two markets’ potential rather than its financial structure: “I’m thrilled to partner with Peter and his team as we bring Jersey Mike’s to the UK and Ireland, two markets with incredible potential.” Companies House also shows a second, more recently registered entity, JM Submarines UK (Baker Street) Limited, though its link to a specific opening has not been confirmed.
What happens next
Jersey Mike’s has not published an exact opening date for the Soho site beyond “later this year”, nor confirmed the locations of the three further London sites reported alongside it. Reaching 400 sites across the UK and Ireland would add one more system to the roughly 1,009 the British Franchise Association’s 2024 National Franchise Survey counted in the UK, and would be a far larger estate than any of the US sub chains that have previously tried to establish themselves in Britain. Confirmation of individual site openings, and of any unit-level franchise recruitment beyond Cancro’s own master franchise company, would typically follow through JM Submarines UK’s own announcements or further Companies House filings.
