I’m the boss of McDonalds… here is why we could be stopped from opening more UK restaurants
MCDONALD’S’ UK boss has said town hall red tape is stopping them from opening new stores across the country.
Alistair Macrow, the fast-food giant’s UK chief executive, said the company’s expansion plans have been hampered by the planning process.
Mr Macrow told The Telegraph that it took years to open a new restaurant in the UK due to the complicated planning process.
He said: “The planning timeline in this country for us has on average increased by 55 weeks since Covid.
“Today it takes us pretty much three years from the moment that we
approve a new site to open. Of those three years, only 43 weeks are within our control, the rest is outside of it.”
Many large businesses have to go through a long and complex process before their scheme can be approved by a local authority.
Cllr Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils have lost a number of experienced planning officers in recent years as a result of increased workloads, particularly since the pandemic and salaries that struggle to compete with the private sector.”
The famous franchise, which opened its first UK restaurant in 1974, currently has 1270 restaurants across the country.
The US based company is spearheading a £280m investment programme over the next three years, aimed at making their British restaurants more efficient.
McDonald’s , famed for its low prices, is now trying to cope with the rampant inflation crisis that has engulfed the UK over recent years.
Inflation has forced the company to hike prices on some items for the very first time.
Mr Macrow said: “Inflation is inflation. We can’t change that.
“We’re sitting here and you can have a hot burger, fries and a drink served to your table for £3.99. I don’t know too many [businesses] able to do a better job.”
The company has faced a number of controversies over the years, particularly the chain’s association with unhealthy food that is associated with obesity.
Mr Macrow said the company has removed thousands of tonnes of fat, salt and sugar from its menu over the last few years.
He said: “We basically tackled things like nuggets, and fries from a salt, fat and sugar point of view. We’ve significantly reduced the amount of salt on our fries.”
He does not agree that much of McDonald’s’ food should be lumped in with ultra-processed foods (UPF).
He said: “You go to our beef plant in Yorkshire and watch whole cuts of beef come in the back door. They go into a mincer to get folded into a patty and get frozen. That’s it. And then after we cook them, we add salt and pepper.
“I’m sure there’ll be people out there who think that’s Ultra Processed Food. To me that is fresh beef served in a really good way.
“I’m not sure how many people realise that every Egg McMuffin comes from somebody cracking an egg and one of our kitchens and putting it and putting it onto the grill.”