Wingstop Touches Down in Australia and New Zealand

DALLAS, Aug. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Wingstop Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: WING), the award-winning wing concept with more than 1,000 locations worldwide, today announced that it is extending its global reach by expanding into Australia and New Zealand. The Company entered into a franchise agreement with a newly created entity under John Bridgeman Limited. Over the next 10 years, 110 restaurants will open across Australia and New Zealand with the first Wingstop set to open in Brisbane during the first half of 2018.

Leading the efforts on behalf of John Bridgeman Limited is managing director Stuart McAuliffe who specializes in identifying investment opportunities and providing extensive financial and management support. John Bridgeman Limited is also a master franchisee of American restaurant brand, Johnny Rockets.

"This is a very exciting project for our food and beverage team," said Stuart McAuliffe managing director of John Bridgeman. "The chicken category is underserved in Australia, and our research indicates that Wingstop's proven success can be replicated in Australia and New Zealand. We have invested in due diligence and planning over the last year to maximize this opportunity. The team brings food and beverage management combined with real estate skills and financial management, which places us in a strong position to rapidly expand the Wingstop brand."

"Our expansion into Australia and New Zealand is an exciting step as we grow our brand internationally and continue on our mission to serve the world flavor," said Larry Kruguer, president of international at Wingstop. "Stuart and his team have been very successful and have begun focusing attention in the local food and beverage sector by introducing great American fast casual brands like ours. Australia is a major consumer of chicken, and our uniquely flavored wings provide a differentiated offering in the market."

Openings in Australia and New Zealand will mark the eleventh and twelfth international markets outside of the United States; and the sixth and seventh new markets announced over the past 12 months. The Company recently opened the first Wingstop locations in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

About Wingstop 
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) operates and franchises more than 1,000 locations across the United States, Mexico, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. The Wing Experts' menu features classic and boneless wings with 11 bold, distinctive flavors including Original Hot, Cajun, Atomic, Mild, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian, Garlic Parmesan, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Louisiana Rub, and Mango Habanero. Wingstop's wings are always cooked to order, hand-sauced and tossed and served with a variety of house-made sides including fresh-cut, seasoned fries. Having grown its domestic same store sales for 13 consecutive years, the Company has been ranked #3 on the "Top 100 Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains" by Nation's Restaurant News (2016), #7 on the "Top 40 Fast Casual Chains" by Restaurant Business (2016), and was named "Best Franchise Deal in North America" by QSR magazine (2014).  Wingstop was ranked #88 on Fortune's 100 Best Medium Workplaces list in October 2016. Follow us on facebook.com/Wingstop and Twitter @Wingstop.

Certain statements contained in this news release, as well as other information provided from time to time by Wingstop Inc. or its employees, may contain forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as "guidance," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend," "believe," "confident," "may," "should," "can have," "likely," "future" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events.

Any such forward looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results, and involve risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions. Although we believe any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect our actual financial results and cause them to differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements. Please refer to the risk factors discussed in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, which can be found at the SEC's website www.sec.gov. The discussion of these risks is specifically incorporated by reference into this news release.

Any forward-looking statement made by Wingstop Inc. in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Media Contact
Brian Bell
972-707-3956
[email protected]

Investor Contact
Raphael Gross
203-682-8253
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SOURCE Wingstop Restaurants Inc.