The UK dining landscape includes many familiar names, and one that stands out for its hearty traditional fare is Toby’s Carvery—known for roast dinners, Yorkshire puddings, and family-friendly venues. If you’re considering stepping into the hospitality sector and leveraging a recognised brand, you might wonder if Toby’s Carvery offers franchise opportunities. The straightforward answer is: Toby’s Carvery does not offer typical franchise licences in the UK.
About Toby’s Carvery
Toby’s Carvery is part of the large pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), which owns and operates a broad portfolio of brands across the UK. Toby’s Carvery is positioned as the “home of the roast” and has grown into a nationwide chain of 140+ sites across England, Scotland and Wales. The brand emphasises value, simple but comforting menus, and broad appeal to families and groups. Because it is fully managed by M&B, Toby’s Carvery restaurants follow uniform operational systems, menu planning, branding and property strategy.
Why Franchise Opportunities Are Not Available
When looking into franchising, it’s important to understand how Toby’s Carvery is structured. M&B runs Toby’s Carvery as a company-owned and company-operated model rather than a licence-based franchise. This means each restaurant is under the direct control of M&B: site selection, design, staffing, menus and supply chain are centrally managed. Because of this setup, the business does not currently grant independent franchise rights to third-party operators.
The absence of a franchise model can be attributed to several factors. First, maintaining consistency of guest experience across all locations matters to the brand, and central control simplifies that. Second, the large format and scale of many of its restaurants suggests substantial investment, corporate ownership and economies of scale that fit M&B’s internal growth model rather than a distributed franchise setup. Third, the parent company appears to prioritise rapid rollout and internal management rather than building a network of independent operators.
What This Means for Entrepreneurs
If you’re an entrepreneur looking for a franchise under a well-known dining brand, the fact that Toby’s Carvery doesn’t franchize means you will not be able to acquire a standard franchise licence under this brand. Instead, any opportunity to be involved with Toby’s Carvery would likely need to come via employment or management roles within the company, or possibly as part of property leasing arrangements with M&B — but not through the usual franchise route.
That isn’t to say there aren’t other hospitality franchise opportunities in the UK; there are plenty of restaurant chains that do offer franchising. If you’re particularly drawn to the carvery or family dining concept, you could look at other brands that operate franchised models, enabling you to run your own business under a recognised name. Alternatively, you could develop your own independent concept—a carvery-style venue under your own brand—which gives you more control but also places the burden of brand-building, marketing and logistics on you.
Conclusion
In summary, Toby’s Carvery does not offer traditional franchise opportunities in the UK. The brand is managed and expanded exclusively through its parent company, Mitchells & Butlers, which retains full ownership and operational control of each restaurant. For those interested in owning a franchise under a widely recognised dining brand, Toby’s Carvery is therefore not an option. You would need to consider other brands that offer franchising or develop your own concept. While the carvery concept remains popular and the market for family dining continues to show demand, the franchise route with this particular brand isn’t available.