McDonald’s chief executive Steve Easterbrook put concerns surrounding Brexit uncertainty to bed earlier this week, insisting that he remains confident in the UK market.
The fast food giant’s shares hit a record high yesterday after reporting better-than-expected profits in the first quarter. The stock climbed 5.6 percent to $141.70.
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“There’s a lot of talk about people having less to spend but we’ve certainly not seen the business miss a beat in the UK,” said Easterbrook. “While others have got nervous about Brexit, we’ve not missed a beat and we are moving at real pace with our store experience programme.”
In December last year, the company provided another post-Brexit confidence boost, announcing plans to move its non-US operations to London, abandoning its base in Luxembourg.
McDonalds’s recent success has been driven by price promotions and a menu revamp, including the introduction of its all-day breakfast in September 2015.
In a bid to attract health-conscious consumers, McDonald’s also made changes to its ingredients, investing in high quality beef and chicken.
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By GlobalDataFrom mid-2018, all “Quarter Pounder” hamburgers will be made from fresh rather than frozen beef patties.
Before Easterbrook became chairman in January 2015, McDonald’s was struggling to cope with sales on a steady decline.
Since he took the position at the company’s helm, the fast food chain’s stock has increased by more than 42 percent.
“There’s a sense of urgency across the business as we take actions to retain existing customers, regain lapsed customers and convert casual customers to committed customers,” Easterbrook said.
McDonald’s will begin its UK home delivery service in June.
