Getting stuck in to tasty challenge

PREMISES formerly occupied by estate agents Ryder and Dutton have been converted into a fast-food restaurant.

Businessman Raja Sajid and his associates have invested more than £750,000 to convert the double-fronted, two-storey premises in Union Street, Oldham, into Chicken Cottage.

Mr Said (43), from Glodwick, was in the textiles for 10 years before selling his business in Greenacres Road and moving into catering.

With a partner from south Manchester, he opted for the hugely successful Chicken Cottage franchise, which has around 95 outlets worldwide.

Open seven-days-a-week, the restaurant has eight full and part-time staff. Mr Sajid is convinced there is a market for another fast-food outlet in what appears to be a saturated Oldham town centre market.

He said: “After 10 years in manufacturing, I wanted a change of emphasis.

“I know that the Chicken Cottage brand is hugely successful.

“The chicken is also halal and there are a few spicy meals, mainly of a Mexican flavour, but the food offer is more in competition with KFC than the Asian market.”

Only a month after the doors opened, business has been so good that turnover is double the business plan projection.

The 95-cover operation looks like being a winner for Asian Business Association member Mr Sajid and his co-investors.