"Creating and sustaining jobs across Liverpool is of huge importance to me!"
Liverpool Franchisee - Mark Blundell
An independent economic report commissioned by McDonald’s to mark 45 years of operating in the UK, reveals the business and its suppliers have made a combined contribution of £39 million annually to the Liverpool area.
Despite numerous high-street businesses in decline across the UK, McDonald’s continues to invest in and grow both its High Street and Drive-Thru operations, many of which are located in town centre locations. Without including its supply chain, in 2017 alone, McDonald’s directly generated more than £32m in the city, employing 2,274 people.
In addition to restaurant jobs, Liverpool is home to one of McDonald’s renewables suppliers state of the art biodiesel plant. McDonald’s has been using biodiesel in its lorries for more than a decade and 40 per cent of the material comes from its own cooking oil. The facility, owned by Olleco (a renewable division of ABP Food Group), produces biodiesel that saves more than 86 per cent in greenhouse emissions compared to fossil fuels. Through suppliers, such as Olleco, McDonald’s contributes a further £6.1million per annum to the Liverpool economy and 120 extra jobs.
The ‘Serving the UK: McDonald’s at 45’, was researched by Development Economics to understand the value McDonald’s has made to the UK economy, local communities, its employees, customers and suppliers since it first started operating in the UK. The new report builds on the economic data McDonald’s published five years ago to mark its 40th anniversary in the UK.
The report looks at McDonald’s significant contribution to UK’s cities, through jobs created in restaurants and the wider economic impact through its supply chain. The study details the many changes the business has undergone to meet customer needs and the key challenges it faces as it heads towards its 50th year in 2024.
Local franchisee, Mark Blundell began his McDonald’s career in a head office role but became a franchisee in 2012. He runs and operates 10 restaurants in Liverpool. He said: “Creating and sustaining jobs across Liverpool is of huge importance to me, and the fact that we have been able to make a significant financial contribution to the area is something my team and I are very proud of.
“We employ people based on their qualities not their qualifications but, as the worlds of business and education move closer, there’s no longer a need to decide between learning and earning. I’m passionate about my teams and in the last seven years have grown from four salaried managers to 50 - with 85 per cent of these new managers promoted from internal positions.
“I feel it’s very important to get to know all my employees as people and play to their strengths, for example after discovering that one of my staff was studying art at a local university I installed a blackboard at one of my restaurants and asked him to draw a local Liverpool city scene. It was loved so much by customers we’ve taken the idea to other restaurants with new artwork every couple of months. We’ve developed the “art” idea further with craft making and fun activities for children at the weekends.
“There’s also no such thing as a typical 9-5 at my restaurants. We know that people take a job with McDonald's for all sorts of reasons, from wanting to earn some extra cash while studying at colleges or one of our universities, to needing a flexible job that fits around childcare. That's why it's so important to us that we offer our employees flexible working options.”
Franchisees go above and beyond to give back to and champion their local communities. Other franchisees who operate in the Liverpool area include Mark Davis, Tony Higdon and Paul Griffiths. Paul has a leadership role with the Birkenhead Business Improvement District and also works closely with The Hive youth centre, providing business education and work placements. Paul also sponsors a number of public bins in Birkenhead town centre and works closely with Love Liscard community group, with his team regularly attending community clean up events. Mark and Tony have donated football kit to local teams, raised funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities and participate in the company wide Keep Up The Clean Up anti-litter campaign.
The report finds that overall the business and its supply chain is estimated to be worth £3.36 billion annually to the UK economy – and that over the past 45 years, the total economic contribution is £54.4 billion, spending £35.6 billion with UK businesses and creating 2.1 million jobs.
In the North West as a whole McDonald’s has contributed £236m and supported 21,430 jobs – with local farmers receiving £25m. By including suppliers, the total GVA contribution in the North West is £407m.
