Denny’s Corporation, one of America’s largest full-service family restaurant chains, today announced a loan program to support Denny’s domestic unit growth. The program will be managed by Pinnacle Commercial Capital, one of the premier nationwide lenders to the franchise industry. Pinnacle is partnering with BancAlliance, a bank-controlled cooperative managed by Alliance Partners which helps member banks diversify loan portfolios across a broader range of asset opportunities, and other participating lenders to provide up to $100 million to new and existing franchisees that open new restaurants in Denny’s under-penetrated markets in the U.S.
Bill Wildman, President of Pinnacle Commercial Capital said, “Pinnacle has a great partnership with Denny’s as evidenced by the successful credit facilities arranged for the Denny’s Flying J program. Our commitment to Denny’s and its franchisees continues to grow stronger through successful loan programs like this one designed specifically for their system. We are pleased that Denny’s selected Pinnacle to arrange these credit facilities for such an important initiative, and have enjoyed working with the senior executives at Denny’s in this engagement.” Wildman continued, “The opportunity to assist the Denny’s franchise network is in conjunction with our two partners in this project, Denny’s and Alliance Partners.”
Lee Sachs, Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Partners stated, “We are excited to work with Pinnacle and Denny’s to provide our BancAlliance members, some of America’s greatest community banks, thrifts and regional banks, access to Denny’s franchisees looking to grow the brand in new markets across America.”
Stephen Dunn, Senior Vice President of Global Development said, “Denny’s recently completed the conversion of 123 restaurants at Pilot Flying J Travel Centers leading to a record development year in 2010 and another great year in 2011. We are positioned to accelerate our domestic development and seize valuable market share for Denny’s at a time when other brands are scaling back on their growth plans. Pinnacle Commercial Capital was instrumental in the success of the Pilot Flying J Travel Center conversions and has stepped up to support Denny’s franchisees with these credit facilities. In conjunction with the loan program, Denny’s is providing significant incentives to its franchise partners who develop in new and emerging domestic markets.”
In creating the New and Emerging Market Incentives Program, Denny’s reviewed existing franchise development incentive programs to create the strongest incentive program possible. “Due to the strength of our brand and franchising system, Denny’s has been able to develop a program that exceeded other incentives in the industry,” Dunn said. “Under our New and Emerging Market Incentive Program, we will reduce fees for franchisees that develop 4 stores over a reasonable period of time. The more stores our franchisees develop in new and emerging markets, the more they will save, due to a reduced package of fees and royalties, in addition to credits for development services including market planning, store design, training and development expenses.”
“We are excited to partner with Pinnacle Commercial Capital and BancAlliance to support our franchise-focused development,” stated John Miller, CEO of Denny’s. “We strongly believe in Denny’s long-term growth potential and are making a commitment to our franchisees through our New and Emerging Market Incentive Program, which we believe can significantly increase the number of markets where we are the number one or two family dining brand in partnership with exceptional Denny’s franchisees.”
Denny’s New and Emerging Market Incentive Program is only available for a limited time. To help communicate the exciting Denny’s franchise opportunity and provide more detail about the new and emerging market incentive program, Denny’s is hosting a series of webinars. Interested parties are invited to visit www.DennysFranchising.com to learn more and sign up for a webinar.
