Who Owns Dixy Chicken? The Brand’s History From 1986 to Today
This is an independent guide. Dixy Chicken Info is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Dixy Chicken or Dixy Group Holdings Limited.
Short answer: Dixy Chicken is owned by Mohammed Ali Bhatti, a Birmingham businessman who worked his way up through the franchise network and took full control of the brand at the end of 2022. On Companies House he is listed as the director and controlling shareholder (75% or more) of Dixy Group Holdings Limited, the company that owns the Dixy name, and of its sister company Dixy Group Limited.
So who owns Dixy Chicken today is a simple question with a long answer behind it. The brand has changed hands at least three times since a single shop opened in the West Midlands in 1986, including a short spell under an American chicken chain. Here is how it got from there to here.
Dixy Chicken ownership timeline
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Mohammed “Mo” Chowdhury and Samuel Jackson open the first Dixy Chicken in Solihull, according to Wikipedia. |
| 2004 | Mohammed Ali Bhatti starts working with Dixy, according to the brand’s own website (another part of the site says 2006). |
| 2007 | US chain Church’s Chicken announces it will move into the UK by converting Dixy franchises to its Texas Chicken brand. |
| 2008 | Church’s takes over the business in February and sells it to Shakeel Arshad before the end of the year, according to Wikipedia. |
| 2014 | Bhatti becomes master franchisee for the Midlands and opens a Dixy drive-thru at Newtown in Birmingham. |
| 2017 | Bhatti becomes master franchisee for Pakistan. |
| 2020 | Bhatti buys a 20% stake in the company. |
| Feb 2022 | Bhatti sets up Dixy Group Limited, first registered as Master Rights of Dixy Chicken Midlands Trading Ltd. |
| 2022 | Bhatti buys another 30% early in the year and the remaining 50% by the end of it, becoming sole owner. |
| May 2024 | A company registered in 2006 as Goldstar Limited is renamed Dixy Group Holdings Limited, with Bhatti as director and controlling shareholder. |
The stake percentages and Bhatti’s career milestones come from the owner’s profile on Dixy’s official website. The company details come from Companies House.
Who founded Dixy Chicken?
Dixy Chicken was founded in 1986 by Mohammed “Mo” Chowdhury and Samuel Jackson, and the first shop was in Solihull, just outside Birmingham. The idea was simple: offer halal versions of the fried chicken people were already buying from the big American chains, at a time when halal fast food was hard to find on the high street. Our halal guide covers how that works today.
There is very little public record of the early years, and we couldn’t find a reliable source on where the name came from, so we won’t guess.
The Church’s Chicken years
This is the part of Dixy’s history most people don’t know. In February 2007 the US trade paper Nation’s Restaurant News reported that Church’s Chicken planned to enter the UK by converting Dixy franchises to Texas Chicken, the name Church’s uses outside America. The target was around 50 converted shops by the end of that year. A franchise industry report from September 2008 said the same thing was still under way, with existing shops being converted rather than new ones built.
Wikipedia dates the actual takeover to February 2008 and says Church’s sold the business on to Shakeel Arshad before the year was out. The sources don’t agree on every date, but they agree on the outcome: the American move into the UK was short-lived, and Dixy carried on as a British brand.
The Shakeel Arshad era (2008 to 2022)
Under Shakeel Arshad, Dixy grew into one of the best-known halal chicken chains in the UK. This was the period of the big expansion, with the official site describing 2014 to 2019 as a time of rapid growth that included the brand’s first drive-thru in Birmingham. It was also the period when Dixy picked up some bad press over hygiene at individual branches, which is why our branch finder shows each shop’s current food hygiene rating.
There is little public information about how the business was run day to day in these years beyond what Wikipedia and Dixy’s own website say.
Who owns Dixy Chicken now: Mohammed Ali Bhatti
Bhatti is the rare chain owner who started inside the system. According to Dixy’s own profile of him, he joined the business in the mid-2000s, became master franchisee for the Midlands in 2014 and for Pakistan in 2017, and opened the Newtown drive-thru in Birmingham along the way. A master franchisee holds the rights for a whole region and signs up the individual shop owners in it, so he already ran a large slice of the network before he owned the brand.
He then bought the company in three steps: 20% in 2020, another 30% in early 2022 and the final 50% at the end of 2022. The official site describes him as owner and managing director. Wikipedia lists him as owner, chairman and CEO.
Companies House backs up the timing. Bhatti registered Dixy Group Limited in February 2022, originally under the name Master Rights of Dixy Chicken Midlands Trading Ltd, and gave a correspondence address at Newtown Shopping Centre in Birmingham, where his drive-thru is. Our Pakistan page covers the branches there.
How the company is set up today
Two companies sit at the top of the brand, both controlled by Bhatti and both registered at the same office in Rainham, on the east London and Essex border.
| Company | Number | Registered | Former name | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dixy Group Holdings Limited | 05753701 | 23 March 2006 | Goldstar Limited (until May 2024) | Head office activities, property, and leasing of intellectual property |
| Dixy Group Limited | 13931136 | 22 February 2022 | Master Rights of Dixy Chicken Midlands Trading Ltd (until March 2023) | Head office activities, property, and leasing of intellectual property |
“Leasing of intellectual property” is the giveaway. The group owns the Dixy name and licenses it to franchisees, rather than running most shops itself. That’s why you’ll find many separate companies on Companies House with Dixy in the name, many of them linked to a single branch. When a local shop is good or bad, that usually comes down to the franchisee running it.
Be careful with look-alikes too. A company called Dixy Chicken Limited, registered in Newcastle in 2018, is a separate takeaway business, not the brand owner.
Where is Dixy Chicken based?
It depends which source you read. Wikipedia says the head office is in Bury, Greater Manchester. Companies House shows the group’s registered office in Rainham, and Bhatti’s correspondence addresses are in Solihull and Birmingham. With the owner’s own background in the Midlands, the brand’s centre of gravity has clearly shifted back towards where it started.
How many Dixy Chicken branches are there?
Dixy’s own website says it has over 120 stores across the UK. Wikipedia gives a figure of around 110 in the UK and more than 150 worldwide. The brand lists Pakistan, India, the USA and New Zealand among its other countries. We track the UK branches city by city; start with our menu prices by country page or the UK guide.
Is Dixy Chicken linked to KFC, Dixie Chicken or Texas Chicken?
- KFC: no. Dixy was set up as a halal alternative to chains like KFC, and has no business link to it. Our Dixy Chicken vs KFC comparison covers the differences.
- Dixie Chicken: no. The Dixie Chicken in College Station, Texas is an unrelated bar, and it’s spelled differently.
- Texas Chicken (Church’s): only briefly, in 2007 and 2008, as described above. There is no link today.
Another name that comes up in searches is “Dixy Pigeon”, an old joke rather than anything to do with the company. We looked at where it came from in does Dixy Chicken use pigeon?
Common questions
Who owns Dixy Chicken now?
Mohammed Ali Bhatti. He bought the company in stages between 2020 and 2022 and is the controlling shareholder of Dixy Group Holdings Limited.
Who founded Dixy Chicken?
Mohammed “Mo” Chowdhury and Samuel Jackson, who opened the first shop in Solihull in 1986.
Is Dixy Chicken a British company?
Yes. It was founded in the West Midlands and is owned through companies registered in England. It was briefly part of the US chain Church’s Chicken around 2008.
Is Dixy Chicken a franchise?
Yes. The parent company licenses the Dixy brand to franchisees, and most branches are run by separate local businesses. The current owner started out as a master franchisee himself.
Did Church’s Chicken own Dixy?
Yes, briefly. Church’s moved into the UK in 2007 and 2008 by converting Dixy franchises, and Wikipedia says it sold the business to Shakeel Arshad by the end of 2008.
How many Dixy Chicken shops are in the UK?
Dixy says over 120. Wikipedia puts it at around 110.
Checked on 6 October 2026 against Companies House, Dixy Chicken’s official website, Wikipedia and trade press reports. Company details change, so check Companies House for the latest filings. Sources: Dixy Group Holdings Limited, Companies House, Dixy Group Limited, Companies House, Meet Mr Bhatti, Dixy Chicken, About Dixy Chicken, Dixy Chicken, Wikipedia, Church’s to expand into UK by absorbing Dixy franchises, Nation’s Restaurant News, Church’s Chicken franchise enters UK, Franchising.com.