But Ray Ramneth was so convinced of the potential that he is opening TWO Subway sandwich franchises on the campus of London’s Kingston University.

“I see this as a long-term investment with huge growth potential,” he says. “I want to open 10 more units over five years.”

Subway Sandwiches & Salads was started by Fred De Luca in Connecticut in 1965. The company has grown into a multi-billion dollar operation with more than 1,600 restaurants in 75 countries.

De Luca plane to open more than 2,000 stores in the UK by 2011. So far, Subway has more than 70 restaurants in the UK and Ireland and it is keen to recruit more franchisees.

All Subway restaurants are individually owned and operated by local business people.

The Subway partnership that was created in 1965 between Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck marked the beginning of a remarkable journey - professionally and personally. Thirty-six years have passed since Dr. Buck loaned 17-year-old DeLuca $1,000 to open a sandwich shop, with the intent that it would help pay for DeLuca’s college tuition. In a relatively short period of time, the Subway concept developed into the largest submarine sandwich franchise in the world. It now has more than 16,000 locations in 75 countries.