Grand Metropolitan began to phase out the Wimpy Bar in the United Kingdom, rebranding many of them as Burger King (which it also owned) because Burger King had the greater brand recognition amongst consumers, and to aid market competition against McDonald's.

Famous Brands had operated the South African Wimpy franchise for a number of years, and the acquisition made it the parent company.

[14] The joint company eventually grew to 1,500 locations, with Gold later selling his share to Lyons prior to his death.

This arrangement ceased when Wimpy UK became a subsidiary of the South Africa-based Famous Brands in 2007.

The South African company started to handle worldwide franchising duties directly from Johannesburg.

In a 1955 newspaper column, Art Buchwald, syndicated writer for the Washington Post, wrote about the recent opening of a "Wimpy's Hamburger Parlor" on Coventry Street and about the influence of American culture on the British.

[16] Buchwald wrote, "Food served at the table within ten minutes of ordering and with atomic age efficiency.

[17][18] A requirement not to allow thieves or prostitutes to assemble on the premises existed under the Late Night Refreshment Houses Act 1969.

When United Biscuits decided to divest its restaurant division in 1989, it sold the business to Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo).

Although Wimpy outlets have decreased in numbers in the United Kingdom, they are still found in many towns and cities, including Huddersfield, and at seafront/seasonal locations, such as Felixstowe, Clacton-on-Sea, Clarence Pier in Southsea.

[32] On 26 October 1981, Kenneth Howorth, an explosives officer with London's Metropolitan Police, was killed whilst attempting to defuse a bomb planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the basement of Wimpy's in Oxford Street.

[4] Since 1970, the Americana Group has operated a single Wimpy restaurant within the Arab League nation of Kuwait.

[citation needed] As of November 2024[update], Americana Group has 16 locations within the Cairo region of Egypt.

[40] The Wimpy brand returned to the United Arab Emirates when Kuwait-based Americana Group opened three locations within the city of Abu Dhabi in December 2022.

[46] Although successful, Borel was forced to close the chain in 1969, owing to a disagreement he had with Lyons, the British parent company.

[52] Most have been replaced by Grill'n'Fill own-branded areas – selling virtually identical products – or Burger King, for which Petrogas had obtained the franchise.

[55] In 1971, Albert Heijn helped McDonald's to open its first restaurant in Europe by establishing a franchise in Zaandam.

[57] There are no verifiable records that Lobenberg opened a second Wimpy unit or how long the Bochum restaurant operated before it closed.

A food historian writing in 2014 believes that Wimpy's failure to survive in Cold War era West Germany was caused by West German consumers of the 1960s preferring to eat familiar German-style chicken meals at the local Wienerwald chain instead of getting an unfamiliar American-style hamburger sandwich at Wimpy.

[58] The Wimpy licence in Australia was held by Happysnaks Pty Ltd and was owned by restaurateur and entrepreneur Oliver Shaul.

[61] Wimpy had branches in New Zealand, including Rotorua, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Paraparaumu, Wanganui, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Taupo, Napier and Wellington.

[63][64] Wimpy was one of the first fast food restaurant chains to open in India's free market economy.

[66][67] The Israeli subsidiary also operated branches in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and Iran, as well as Sharm el Sheikh within the then-Israeli occupied Sinai.

[68] Before its final failure and pullout in the 1980s, Wimpy was joined in an emerging market for hamburger restaurants by Burgeranch (since 1972) and MacDavid (since 1978).

Wimpy had several locations in major Thai cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai but these stores closed down in 2005.

The first Wimpy restaurant in the country began operations with the inauguration of Unicentro, the first mall-type shopping centre in Bogotá, in April 1976.