Subway is preparing for a significant expansion in the United Kingdom as part of a broader plan to nearly double its presence across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to 10,000 outlets over the next five years. The American sandwich chain currently operates around 2,000 locations in the UK and has a total global footprint of approximately 35,000 stores.

The company’s strategy includes not only opening hundreds of new shops but also revamping existing outlets to enhance the customer ordering experience. These upgrades will allow patrons to place orders in various ways—at staffed counters, through self-service kiosks, or via a mobile app—offering greater flexibility and convenience. All new Subway locations will incorporate these features starting January.

Alongside these changes, Subway is testing a new evening service called Subway After Dark, which began with a pilot program in the Netherlands. This service, starting at 6 p.m., features menu items such as foot-long pizzas, loaded waffle fries, and mac ’n’ cheese, expanding beyond Subway’s traditional sandwich offerings. The roll-out of this evening menu will be determined on a location-by-location basis, depending on customer demand.

Founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca, who opened his first sandwich shop in Connecticut with a loan from Peter Buck, Subway remained a family-owned business until it was sold to Roark Capital, an American private equity firm, in 2024. Roark Capital also holds stakes in other food chains such as Dunkin’ and Arby’s.

Subway’s expansion and menu diversification efforts are expected to intensify competition in the UK’s fast food and food-on-the-go market, targeting rivals like Greggs and Pret A Manger. Whether the combination of new outlets and an extended menu will significantly reshape the competitive landscape remains to be seen, but the company is clearly positioning itself to capture a larger share of the market in the coming years.