Abans PLC Distances Itself from Local McDonald's Franchise Ownership

Colombo, Sri Lanka - Abans PLC issued a statement today clarifying that the Sri Lankan franchise for McDonald's is not under their umbrella of companies. In a letter to Mr. Renuka Wijewardena, Chief Regulatory Officer of the Colombo Stock Exchange, Abans PLC states that the local McDonald's franchise operates as a separate entity.

Abans PLC's statement reads:

The local franchisee of McDonald's is International Restaurant Systems (Private) Limited incorporated under the Companies Act No.7 of 2007. The majority shareholder of the said company is Mr. Rusi Pestonjee who owns a 98.73% stake in that company, and who is also the Managing Director of Abans PLC.

International Restaurant Systems (Private) Limited is not a subsidiary nor an associate of Abans PLC or its parent company Abans Retail Holdings (Private) Limited. Due to the said reason, the financials of International Restaurant Systems (Private) Limited are not consolidated with the financials of Abans PLC.

Letter:

Despite the clarification, Abans' name is deeply tied with the McDonald's name, as the PLC has multiple references to the partnership with McDonald's in their annual reports. In an article published on the Abans Group website, the company states,

Abans pioneered the entry of international food chains into Sri Lanka by spearheading the entry of McDonald’s into the Sri Lankan market in the late 1990s. More recently, with the opening of the joint venture Colombo City Centre in 2018, Abans has exemplified their vision of enhancing urban living in Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, the McDelivery Sri Lanka app on the Apple App Store remains published under Abans Restaurant Systems.