McDonald’s Financial Year 2019 – UK statement

Paul Pomroy, CEO, McDonald’s UK & Ireland:

“2019 was a successful year for the UK and Ireland business, and it is testament to our people and franchisees that we have delivered continued strong growth during a tough time for the retail sector. In 2020 we remain committed to continuing investment in the areas driving our growth - our supply chain, our people and our restaurant experience, so over the next three years £1 billion will be invested to ensure we can continue to focus on what matters most - customers, food, value, service and convenience.

“Our success has been built on investment; we invest in proven business cases that will set ourselves apart from the competition and attract customers.  In 2020, investment will be in the customer experience, as, together with our franchisees, we embark on a new cycle of updating the look and feel of our restaurants, as well as in the digital experience. Having opened 40 restaurants in 2019, we plan to open a further 60 in 2020. However, this is not against an easy backdrop - rising food prices, labour costs and inflation, coupled with wavering consumer confidence have resulted in a tough trading period across the board, and we are mindful of that.

“McDelivery was an important part of our success in 2019, and this year we will be partnering with a second delivery partner to expand this offer and give customers more choice and convenience. Just Eat will come on board later in 2020 alongside our existing and valued provider Uber Eats, to help meet the demand which saw McDelivery account for more than 10% of sales in 2019. 

“Listening to our customers and understanding what they want remains a priority as we grow. In 2019 we served more than 1.1 billion customers. They came to us for their McDonald’s favourites, but also our improved salads and wraps, as well as our coffee, with 14 million more cups sold last year.

“2019 was also a year of continual improvement; following the introduction of paper straws across our restaurants this year we made changes to our McFlurry and salads to reduce plastic waste by 485 metric tonnes annually.  We remain committed to the 1270 communities we operate in, the 130,000 people we employ and the responsibility we have as a business environmentally. We will continue to do the right thing, and challenge ourselves to do even more. While we undoubtedly live in challenging times, I am confident for the year ahead.”