Steve Easterbrook – McDonald’s UK is ‘on a roll’, Grand Mac sales far exceed any other promotion: McDonald’s chief executive Steve Easterbrook has singled out the UK business for particular praise in an analysts’ call. He reported global like-for-like sales up 5.5% in the most recent quarter. Easterbrook told analysts: “The UK, they’re on a real roll. And we do (single) them out from time to time because they’ve really gathered some fantastic momentum. I think ultimately what they’re benefiting from is not just the motivated owner/operators and the investments we bring into our restaurants, but actually for many years, they have really been very good at putting attention to building the brand as well. It’s a competitive marketplace. It’s facing many of the societal challenges and business challenges that we face elsewhere in the world. But they really are beginning to reap the benefits of long-term sustained investment in the brand, as well as just in the core business. And, yes, they’re taking plenty of market share. They’re in a very dominant position and I think it would be tough to be a competitor of McDonald’s in the UK. They really are firing on all cylinders which is great. This year, around the system, we’re celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Big Mac. We’re reenergising the brand and rekindling the passion our customers have for this iconic and delicious sandwich. Many markets are extending the line, offering a limited time trio of Mac Jr, the classic Big Mac, and Grand Big Mac. In the UK, this was a key growth driver for the quarter, with Grand Big Mac sales far exceeding any promotional beef sandwich previously offered in the market. In the International Lead segment, comp sales were up 7.8% with positive comp sales and guest counts in all markets. Leading the segment, the UK maintained momentum and posted its 48th consecutive quarter of comp sales growth.” He added: “More than 11,500 restaurants now offer delivery. Whilst we continue to expand the base of participating restaurants, we’re working closely with Uber Eats and our other partners to optimize the model, building awareness, trial, and more frequent repeat orders, and, most importantly, customer and career satisfaction. In most of our major markets, delivery is already a meaningful contributor to overall comparable sales.”

Just Eat reports sales up 49% in First Quarter: Just Eat, the online food delivery business , has reported revenues up 49% to £177.4 million in the First Quarter (Q1 2017: £118.9 million) to 31 March, driven by strong order growth and a greater proportion of higher value delivery orders in the mix. On a currency neutral basis, revenues grew by 51%.UK orders increased by 24% to 29.7 million (Q1 2017: 24.0 million), benefiting from 1.4 million orders from Hungryhouse, following the completion of the acquisition on 31 January, as well as the inclusion of part of the Easter holiday weekend, which added an estimated one percentage point to UK order growth. International orders were up 46% to 21.9 million (Q1 2017: 15.0 million), driven by continued triple digit order growth in Canada and strong performances in Italy and Spain, partly offset by softness in Australia. The company stated:”We continue to progress delivery-based initiatives in key markets, driven by the strong performance of SkipTheDishes in Canada. In Australia, we completed the Menulog re-platforming and, in April, launched delivery services leveraging SkipTheDishes’ expertise. We reiterate guidance given at the time of the 2017 full year results in March of group revenue of between £660 – 700 million and uEbitda of £165 – 185 million in 2018.” Chief executive Peter Plumb said: “Just Eat has had a strong start to the year. We delivered our 400 millionth order in the UK, grew well in Italy and Spain, whilst powering continued momentum in our Canadian delivery service SkipTheDishes. I’d like to welcome all our important new restaurant partners to the Just Eat family, including those from our successful recent acquisition of Hungryhouse.”