McDonald’s to open more than 200 new UK restaurants over the next four years with a focus on the high street: McDonald’s plans to opens more than 200 restaurants in the UK and the Republic of Ireland over the next four years, creating 24,000 jobs, in a sign of faith in the high street, reports The Times. The expansion, its biggest since 2002, is part of a £1bn investment by the chain and its franchisees, which already have 1,435 outlets in the UK employing 171,415 people. Four fifths of its restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees. It represents a significant increase in investment by McDonald’s, which put £618mn into new restaurants and upgrades in the five years to 2023. Under the plans to be announced this week, there will be a renewed focus on opening high street restaurants by the company, which is the biggest private employer of young people in Britain. McDonald’s said this demonstrated a “commitment to supporting successful high streets across the country as town and city centres continue to evolve and respond to a variety of challenges”. The rollout will test new restaurant formats, including smaller ones. “We have come a long way since we first opened our doors in Woolwich 50 years ago,” Alistair Macrow, the chief executive of McDonald’s UK&I, said. “We have become an important part of communities across the UK, and I’m delighted that, in this milestone year, we are able to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to growth and announce the creation of new jobs. We’re proud of what we have delivered in the last 50 years and are committed to investing in new opportunities and supporting growth across the UK.” In a new report to celebrate its half-century as part of British life, McDonald’s highlights its contribution to the economy, including nearly £95n of gross value added spread nationwide. Since 1974, more than £51.56bn has been spent on UK-based suppliers and farmers. The world’s biggest restaurant group reported its first global drop in sales since the pandemic in July. UK financials are not covered in McDonald’s Group corporate earnings reporting. The 1% fall in same-store quarterly sales in its 41,800 outlets worldwide in the second quarter prompted Chris Kempczinski, 55, the chief executive of McDonald’s Corporation, to concede that it was “clear that our value leadership has recently shrunk”. He insisted that the company was “working to fix that with pace”. McDonald’s blamed a fall in the number of its customers in the United States, along with the “continued impact of the war in the Middle East” and weaker demand in China. McDonald’s features in the Propel UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, which is an exhaustive guide to the companies offering a food and beverage franchise in the UK and is available exclusively to Premium subscribers. The database is updated every two months, and the latest version was sent out last week, featuring 270 businesses. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

Dublin chef closes two out of his three restaurants amidst ‘challenging times’: Dublin chef Dylan McGrath has closed two out of his three restaurants in the city amidst what he called “challenging times” for the industry. McGrath has shut Brasserie Sixty6 and Rustic Stone but confirmed the third of his three restaurants in Dublin, Fade Street Social, will remain open. “Looking at hospitality in the city, the time has come where we have decided it’s simply not sustainable,” he posted to social media. “It’s hard to put into words what has happened to restaurants and the city centre in the last four years. No doubt we will miss the restaurants, but selling on the leases and concentrating on Fade Street Social currently is what’s needed. This is a very challenging time for stand-alone restaurant models. Rustic Stone and Brasserie Sixty6 have been very successful restaurants in Dublin for a long time, but hospitality is changing, and we believe our strong work ethic is better applied to new and different opportunities. We will be focused on Fade Street Social and making it the best it can be.”