McDonald’s will open over 200 restaurants in the UK and Ireland over the next four years, creating around 24,000 new jobs, as the company accelerates its expansion in response to rising demand for takeaway food.
The plan is the US company’s biggest expansion programme in the UK in over 20 years and is backed by a £1 billion investment from the fast-food chain and its franchisees, with a focus on city centre locations.
This year, McDonald’s is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of its first UK outlet in Woolwich, south London. The company operates 1,435 restaurants across the country, around four-fifths of which are owned and operated by franchisees, and employs over 170,000 people.
Planned outlets include tests for new formats, including smaller locations and drive-to restaurants.
The UK food-to-go market is expected to grow by 40% in value terms by 2028, according to food industry association IGD. In recent years, growth has been driven by inflation, but from 2024, order volumes began to rise again. This trend is expected to continue and become the key performance driver from next year.
The expansion plans for the UK and Ireland come after McDonald’s announced its goal of opening 10,000 more restaurants worldwide by 2027.
However, in February, the global company reported its first quarterly revenue decline in nearly four years after coming under pressure from weak sales growth in its business segment covering the Middle East, China and India.
Alistair Macrow, CEO of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said: “We have come a long way since we opened our doors in Woolwich 50 years ago.
“I am delighted that in this milestone year we can demonstrate our continued commitment to growth and announce the creation of new jobs across the country as we plan to open over 200 new restaurants over the next four years.”
The expansion comes against a backdrop of continued strong demand for take-away food, driven by the return to the office and people working from home looking to treat themselves.
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However, there is fierce competition in the UK: McDonald’s lost its top spot in takeaway breakfast earlier this year to Newcastle-based bakery chain Greggs, which continues to expand rapidly.
Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, said it was “clear around the world that our value leadership has been shrinking recently.” He promised that the company was working “to quickly resolve this issue.”
