By Sean T. Ngo, CEO & Co-Founder, VF Franchise Consulting
Subway has handed the master franchise for Qatar to Alamtiazat Al Alamyah Food Stuff, part of Al Mana International Holding, giving the group exclusive rights to run and grow every Subway location in the country. The move deepens a relationship that already runs more than a decade and slots into a wider Middle East expansion the sandwich chain has been building since 2021.
This is not a cold-start entry. Alamtiazat Al Alamyah Food Stuff has operated Subway restaurants in Qatar under a development agreement since 2010, and it manages a portfolio of international quick-service names locally. Converting that track record into a full master franchise gives Subway an operator with existing sites, local supply relationships and a management team that understands the market — a lower-risk path than appointing an untested newcomer.
“Subway has become a favourite in Qatar.”
Subway’s EMEA president, Tracy Gehlan, framed the deal around demand for fresh, affordable food, while Alamtiazat Al Alamyah Food Stuff CEO Abdulrahman Al Mana pointed to a shared commitment to guest experience. Under the agreement the operator is expected to roll out Subway’s current restaurant design and push digital and operational upgrades across both new and existing stores.
The Qatar deal is one piece of a regional campaign. Since 2021 Subway has signed six master franchise agreements across the Middle East, together carrying commitments for more than 800 new restaurants. Globally in the same period the chain has concluded upward of 25 master franchise contracts, tied to plans for more than 10,000 future restaurants. Handing whole countries to well-capitalised local groups is now the brand’s default expansion mechanism outside North America.
Qatar shows why the master franchise model has become the standard for global QSR brands entering the Gulf. Rather than manage a distant market directly, the franchisor transfers development, capital and day-to-day operations to a regional holding company that already runs multiple food brands — spreading fixed costs and shortening the learning curve. For family offices and diversified groups in the region, an established international brand paired with country-level exclusivity is a familiar and bankable structure.
The pattern echoes across the Gulf, where anchor operators increasingly hold several master franchises at once. Investors weighing similar moves can review VF’s guide to master franchise agreements and browse current franchise opportunities across Asia Pacific and MENA.
Source: Verdict Foodservice — Subway’s Qatar development rights go to Alamtiazat Al Alamyah Food Stuff
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