Become part of a modern and progressive brand
Becoming a McDonald's franchisee is not for everyone. It's a long term commitment. You'll need significant financial investment combined with a hard working and hands-on approach to running a customer-orientated business.
Let's be clear
Although your work will be rewarding both financially and personally, don't think of a McDonald's franchise as a licence to print money. The rewards are certainly there, but they're for the earning, not the taking. And if you're looking for an investment where you can sit back and not be involved, this isn't for you. We're not trying to put you off - we just want you to be aware of some of the realities before you go further.
"I wanted to do something for myself." - Paul Crocker, McDonald's franchisee from Kent
McDonald's Franchisee, Kent
"You really do have an effect. You're involved all the way, from coming up with ideas, to approving campaigns and budgets."Using your business experience
Paul Crocker had run a number of successful petrol station businesses before taking on a McDonald's franchise in 1995. He now operates five restaurants in Kent with the help of his wife. He has consistently outperformed the national average for sales growth."The secret," says Paul, "is a combination of fine tuning operational performance and enticing new customers into the restaurant." He does this by getting out into the community, and seizing every opportunity there is to sponsor events and distribute vouchers so that people have an incentive to visit.
"McDonald's is great if you're competitive," Paul adds. "There are lots of measures to show you how you're performing regionally and nationally - as well as your own figures for last week and last year. I just like to beat targets. It gives me a buzz."
Paul was on the McMarCo committee for several years. It's made up of franchisees and senior people from Head Office who jointly decide the Company's marketing activity and spend for the following year. "It's amazing the influence you, just one individual, can have on the decisions of a big company," says Paul. "You really do have an effect. You're involved all the way, from coming up with ideas, to approving campaigns and budgets."
Join us as a franchisee and you'll benefit from a first class training programme to help you take advantage of our proven system. You'll get ongoing support and advice to help progress you and your business throughout your twenty year term.
After several interviews, if we're both sure that a McDonald's franchise is right for you, you'll embark on your training programme which typically takes nine months. This involves visiting and working in several restaurants as well as classroom-based tuition. The training is excellent, but you'll have to support yourself throughout that period, as well as provide a refundable £5,000 training deposit.
Are we right for each other?
Like we said, a career as a McDonald's franchisee is not by any
means for everyone. Equally, we don't accept just anyone either.
Ideally, you'll already have a successful business or career and will
have demonstrated significant team leadership.
There's more to running a McDonald's franchise than serving burgers and french fries - much more. You'll need a remarkable aptitude for connecting and communicating with people. You'll be completely committed for at least 20 years, with no other business interests. And we only offer franchises to individuals although many of our franchisees run their businesses as husband-and-wife teams.
Being hands onRunning a McDonald's franchise means running it. The role would vary from working in the restaurant and preparing the food to dealing with marketing and making critical business decisions. It is emphatically hands on. You will be leading your team and ensuring that at all times, the customers visiting your restaurant enjoy the highest standards on each and every visit.
And it doesn't end there. We encourage all of our franchisees to be active in the community. Usually, they support community programmes like local junior football teams or issues relating to the environment. So you can see, it's as much about earning respect within and outside your restaurant as it is about earning money.
What's the deal?As a guide, the cost of an average restaurant is £200,000. You will need to provide at least 25% of the value as unencumbered funds, the remaining 75% can be funded through a bank loan with favourable funding terms.
There's also a one-off franchise fee of £30,000 and a training deposit of £5,000 which will be refunded when you complete your training.
There are also ongoing fees. These include:
- Monthly rent on the premises, based on sales and profitability (usually about 12%)
- Service Fee for use of the McDonald's system - 5% of sales
- Contribution to national marketing spend, currently 4.5% of sales
And the returns?
Cashflow is around £70,000 to £98,000 per year but this isn't guaranteed: it could be more, it could be less. This is before debt repayment. The average cash return on investment is currently around 10%.