What Imvescor Restaurant Group does

Imvescor Restaurant Group, operating publicly as Groupe Alimentaire MTY (MTY Group) on the Toronto Stock Exchange under ticker MTY, is a multi-brand restaurant franchise consolidator headquartered at 8210 Transcanada Road, Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Founded in 1967, the company has spent over 40 years building and acquiring a portfolio of 60+ restaurant franchise brands spanning quick-service, fast-casual, and casual dining across multiple cuisines — including Papa Murphy's, Cold Stone Creamery, ThaÏ Express, Sweet Frog, Sushi Shop, Mucho Burrito, Bâton Rouge, Manchu Wok, Baja Fresh, Mr. Sub, Pizza Delight, Scores, Ben & Florentine, The Counter, Planet Smoothie, and Allô Mon Coco, among others.

The company's core technology is a franchise operations and brand-portfolio management platform rather than a consumer-facing software product. It centralizes site selection, restaurant design, franchisee training, operations support, marketing, and purchasing across the brand base. US operations are scaled through subsidiary/operations partners Kahala, BBQ Holdings, Papa Murphy's, and Wetzel's Pretzels, while corporate functions such as purchasing (VP Purchasing) and business development (VP Business Development, Retail & Commensal) are run from the Saint-Laurent headquarters. The company is led by President & CEO Frank Hennessey alongside COO Amber Coggan Imbeault and a senior team spanning restaurant development, HR, and purchasing.

MTY Group earns revenue primarily through franchise fees and ongoing royalties from its franchisee network (the licensing/royalties model), with supplementary income from any company-operated units. Its go-to-market motion is direct franchise sales to entrepreneur-franchisees in both the Canadian and US markets, supported by brand-specific websites, a corporate franchise directory, and dedicated Canadian and US franchise development teams. The customer base is a long tail of independent franchisee operators rather than enterprise accounts, distributed across two countries and roughly 60 brand concepts.

Name

Imvescor Restaurant Group

Legal name

MTY Franchising Inc.

Website

https://imvescor.ca

Company type

Public

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Imvescor Restaurant Group (TSX: MTY) is a publicly traded Canadian multi-brand restaurant franchise consolidator with 60+ brands across Canada and the US, earning revenue from franchise fees and royalties on concepts such as Papa Murphy's, Cold Stone Creamery, Thai Express, and Bâton Rouge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Franchising

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Pizza QSR (THAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sandwiches & Subs QSR (THAFAAAD)

Keywords

• Restaurant franchising
• Quick-service dining
• Casual dining
• Multi-brand franchise operator
• Franchise restaurant portfolio

Headquarters

HQ city

Montréal

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Franchise Fees and Royalties: Revenue generated from franchise fees and ongoing royalties from franchisees across 37+ restaurant brands including Papa Murphy's, Cold Stone Creamery, Thai Express, Sweet Frog, Taco Time, Sushi Shop, Mucho Burrito, Baton Rouge, Manchu Wok, Baja Fresh, Mr. Sub, Pizza Delight, Scores, Ben & Florentine, and many others.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Imvescor Restaurant Group (operating as Groupe Alimentaire MTY / MTY Group) is a multi-brand restaurant franchise franchisor and operator that owns, franchises, and operates a portfolio of more than 37 quick-service, fast-casual, and casual dining restaurant brands across Canada and the United States. The company sells franchise opportunities and earns royalties from franchisees while providing ongoing operational, marketing, training, and site-selection support.

Product overview

Imvescor Restaurant Group (known internationally as Groupe Alimentaire MTY / MTY Group) is a multi-brand restaurant franchise company and operator. Rather than a unified technology platform, the company's offering consists of a diversified portfolio of 60+ acquired and developed restaurant franchise brands spanning multiple cuisines and service formats including quick-service (fast food), fast-casual, and casual dining. The portfolio includes pizza concepts (Papa Murphy's, Pizza Delight), Mexican/Tex-Mex (Mucho Burrito, Baja Fresh, Taco Time, La Salsa), Asian cuisines (Thaï Express, Manchu Wok, Sushi Shop, Yuzu Sushi), breakfast/brunch (Allô Mon Coco, Ben & Florentine), frozen desserts (Cold Stone Creamery, Sweet Frog), sandwiches (Mr. Sub, Extreme Pita), and casual dining (Bâton Rouge, Scores). The company provides franchise support services including location selection, design, training, operations guidance, and marketing to its franchisees across Canada and the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Papa Murphy's: Pizza chain with take-and-bake concept operating in Canada
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Thaï Express
• Sweet Frog
• Mucho Burrito
• Bâton Rouge
• Manchu Wok
• Baja Fresh
• Mr. Sub
• Pizza Delight
• Scores
• Ben & Florentine
• The Counter
• Planet Smoothie
• Allô Mon Coco
• Yuzu Sushi
• Toujours Mikes
• Sushi Shop

Products and services

• Papa Murphy's Take-and-bake pizza franchise brand offering fresh, customizable pizzas that customers bake at home; available to franchisees in Canada and the US.
• Cold Stone Creamery Ice cream and frozen dessert franchise known for made-to-order ice cream creations; sold as a franchise opportunity.
• Thaï Express (Thai Express) Quick-service Thai cuisine franchise offering noodles, stir-fries, and Asian dishes; available as a franchise opportunity.
• Sweet Frog Self-serve frozen yogurt franchise offering a range of toppings and flavors; available as a franchise opportunity.
• Taco Time (US) Mexican fast-food franchise serving tacos, burritos, and other Tex-Mex cuisine in the US market.
• Sushi Shop Sushi restaurant franchise offering Japanese cuisine including sushi, sashimi, and Asian dishes.
• Toujours Mikes Casual dining restaurant franchise known for pasta, pizzas, and family-oriented dining.
• Mucho Burrito Mexican fast-casual restaurant franchise specializing in burritos, bowls, and tacos.
• Bâton Rouge Casual dining restaurant franchise offering grilled meats and ribs with a sports bar atmosphere.
• Manchu Wok

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KahalacoreOthersUS operations partner managing Kahala brand operations in the United States market.
• BBQ HoldingscoreOthersUS operations partner managing BBQ Holdings brand operations in the United States market.
• Papa Murphy'scoreOthersUS operations partner managing Papa Murphy's brand operations in the United States market.
• Wetzel's PretzelscoreOthersUS operations partner managing Wetzel's Pretzels brand operations in the United States market.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• FAT (Fresh, Authentic, Tasty) Brands: Multi-brand restaurant franchisor (Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Twin Peaks, Round Table Pizza, etc.) pursuing an aggressive acquisition-led growth strategy similar in shape to MTY's roll-up model.
• Diversified Restaurant Holdings: Multi-concept franchise operator (Bagger Dave's, Red Robin, Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee). Comparable multi-brand restaurant operator model at smaller scale than MTY.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomin' Brands: Casual dining multi-brand operator (Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's, Bonefish Grill, Fleming's). Relevant comparable on the casual-dining side of MTY's portfolio, though more company-operated than franchised.
• Jack in the Box: Predominantly franchised QSR chain (Jack in the Box, Del Taco). Comparable QSR franchise model, though single/dual brand rather than a diversified portfolio.
• The Wendy's Company: Predominantly franchised QSR chain (Wendy's). Comparable as a QSR business with a heavily franchised model, though operating a single core brand rather than a multi-brand portfolio.

Direct peers

• Dine Brands Global: Franchisor of IHOP and Applebee's, with a smaller but similar two-brand franchise model. Comparable for franchise-fee/royalty revenue mix and exposure to casual dining unit economics.
• Yum! Brands: Global multi-brand QSR franchisor (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Habit Burger). Closely aligned asset-light franchise model with a portfolio spanning multiple cuisines, including pizza and Mexican (overlapping with MTY's Papa Murphy's, Pizza Delight, and Taco Time brands).
• Inspire Brands: Multi-brand restaurant franchisor (Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, Dunkin', Jimmy John's, Baskin-Robbins). Highly comparable franchise-roll-up platform with similar centralized support infrastructure and acquisition-driven growth.
• Restaurant Brands International: QSR multi-brand franchise operator (Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes, Firehouse Subs). Directly comparable to MTY as a multi-brand QSR franchisor with a royalty-driven model and active acquisition strategy.

Regional players

• Famous Brands (South Africa): Multi-brand restaurant franchise operator in Africa (Steers, Wimpy, Debonairs Pizza, Mugg & Bean). Comparable multi-brand franchising platform, though primarily serving a different geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imvescor-restaurant-group-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Imvescor Restaurant Group