Profits at McDonald’s UK division nearly doubled in 2024 despite slashing more than 2,000 roles, new filings have disclosed.
The American fast-food colossus recorded a pre-tax profit of £120m for its most recent financial year, climbing from the £66.3m registered in 2023, as reported by City AM.
However, this figure remained below the £170.8m peak achieved in 2022.
McDonald’s operating profit similarly jumped from £10.7m to £75.5m in 2024, though this was considerably lower than the £165.4m recorded in 2022.
Fresh accounts lodged with Companies House have also shown that McDonald’s turnover declined marginally in 2024, dropping from £1.83bn to £1.82bn.
Revenue from company-owned restaurants decreased from £942m to £904.9m, whilst income from franchisees rose from £893.5m to £916.8m.
The figures demonstrate that the average monthly workforce at McDonald’s UK operations contracted from 26,384 to 24,375 employees in 2024.
A board statement explained: “The year on year movement in operating profit is predominantly driven by savings in administrative expenses offset the investment and intangibles impairment of £41m.”
The statement added: “Additionally, this was further impacted by continued inflationary pressures impacting food, paper and utility costs on the company operated estate.”
McDonald’s distributed an £83m dividend to its American parent company for the year, having foregone any payout in 2023. The company stated: “The level of business and the period end financial position remain satisfactory in spite of the ongoing challenges presented by the inflationary environment, both for the company and the wider McDonald’s system and the directors are confident of being able to develop the business further in the future.”
McDonald’s faces growing competition
The financial results for McDonald’s UK division follow a report by City AM in May that KFC plans to create over 7,000 jobs in the UK and Ireland within the next five years and open an additional 500 restaurants by 2035.
This £1.5bn investment would allocate £466m towards the establishment of new sites, focusing on flagship locations and drive-thrus in “key locations” such as Ireland and North West England.
A portion of this figure will also be dedicated to refurbishing more than 200 existing KFC outlets – representing 20 per cent of the brand’s portfolio.
KFC added that its strategy to generate over 7,000 jobs in the next five years will involve an investment of £583m.
The brand also revealed plans to spend £404m to “strengthen KFC’s long-standing relationships with its suppliers and help businesses across the UK&I continue to grow.”
At the dawn of 2025, rapidly expanding chains Wingstop and Popeyes each unveiled ambitious plans to broaden their UK presence and create thousands of jobs.
Popeyes detailed plans to nearly double its UK footprint with the launch of more than 45 new restaurants.
The firm anticipates the creation of approximately 2,500 jobs and aims to achieve sales exceeding £200m in 2025.
Simultaneously, Wingstop’s UK franchise revealed its intention to launch a minimum of 20 new locations within the UK this year, generating hundreds of employment opportunities.
These plans were unveiled a month following the acquisition of Wingstop’s UK division by a US private equity company for over £400m.
