McDonald’s to spend £2.3m on store refits

May 5 2008 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

FAST food giant McDonald’s is overseeing a Merseyside restaurant refurbishment programme worth £2.3m.

The company said it was investing heavily because of its strong performance in the area and claims Liverpool will have a level of reinvestment second only to London in the UK.

Six restaurants are part of a revamp to update the chain’s look.

Nearly £1m has already been spent, with the company pumping in £700,000 into the Ranelagh Street store alone, while the refurbishment of Liverpool’s Lord Street store will have cost more than £450,000 when it is completed later this month.

Restaurants at Aintree Racecourse retail park, Edge Lane and Liverpool Stonedale retail park will share more than £1m of investment during 2008.

The sixth site is at Liscard High Street, Wallasey, which is run by franchisee Paul Griffiths. He owns three restaurants which have a collective turnover of more than £4m.

He has spent £150,000 on the restaurant, which has now reopened with its new look.

“We are continually working towards being progressive, ethical and contemporary,” he said.

“We are true to our core values – we still serve burgers – but we do have variety so we can attract a lot of different customers and the refurbishment is part of that.”

Mr Griffiths, who owns three restaurants, and is also chairman of McDonald’s European food improvement team, was enthusiastic about the work that has taken place.

“It’s a re-image, with new signage, new furniture and a new colour scheme,” he said. “Our image is modern and contemporary.

“We are always trying to be better, so we listen to our customers and are constantly working to improve what we do.”

McDonald’s has more than 30 restaurants in Merseyside, which are mostly operated by the company. Nationally, franchisees operate about one-third of the 1,000 restaurants.

alex.turner