A former boxer turned chicken franchise owner has opened a new takeaway.

Ajmal Faizy from Blackburn and his business partner Kamran Akhtar run two Allens Fried Chicken shops, one in Bolton and a second one opening just four weeks ago in Accrington.

Ajmal, a former professional boxer and Kamran, an ex-physiotherapist student said they were excited to be branching out closer to home.

Twenty-one-year old Kamran said: “In these difficult times of the whole Covid situation, I hope to see some happy faces when enjoying our food and Allen’s famous chicken gravy.”

The pair bought the Bolton store on Chorley Old Road just three months ago. It was previously owned and run by Raymond Allen, who went on to open another 250 stores throughout the UK.

Ajmal quit boxing to do something different after numerous injuries obtained through training.

He said: “I was getting a lot of injuries from training and in my last fight, my hand was giving me problems, so I decided it was not worth it to pursue boxing anymore.

“It was stopping me from further training and being ready for a fight.

“I gave it 100 percent but sometimes you have to look at practicality as well.”

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After inspecting the food scene around Lancashire, the duo found the right place in Accrington to start the second shop located on Blackburn Road.

Ajmal said: “Using my hands to box was very fun and a real ambition of mine back then, times have changed, and now I’m here boxing up the best chicken in town.

“I needed to find a new job and I had always wanted to go into the food industry, because it’s something that would never run out.”

“We’ve been doing really well so far, but it’s only been a month and so we’ll have to wait and see if we continue doing well.”

After making some changes to the Bolton store, the pair ran it successfully by themselves before hiring staff to run it for them.

Now, they are looking to do the same at the Accrington shop, setting to work themselves first, before looking for the right members of staff to work at the shop.

Ajmal added: “The Accrington shop is doing even better than Bolton, so we’re confident.

“Our specialty is just chicken, so we don’t do anything else but like KFC, everything has chicken.”

You can find out more at @Allensaccrington