Franchisee Application

Skills & Requirements

Skills and requirements

As we are a Nordic organisation our common business language is English. This applies also to the business documents we use and some of the interviews along the recruitment process. In the markets and our restaurants we predominantly use the local language, but English is good to master there, too.

A certain set of skills, characteristics and behaviors are great to have for a Franchisee to become successful and which we see essential. These skills and characteristics consist of eight distinct competencies, which fall into three categories:

• Cognitive skills: Strategic business planning, Problem solving, and Business focused decision making
• Interpersonal skills: Communicating and influencing, Leading people, and Personal ambition and resilience
• Action skills: Corporate citizenship, and Brand Ambassador

What's the deal?

Becoming a McDonald's franchisee is not for everyone. It's a long term commitment. You will need significant financial investment combined with a hardworking and hands-on approach to running a customer-oriented business. We also look to grow with our Franchisees and aim at portfolio sizes of 5 or more restaurants within few years after joining our Franchisee community. Hence, entrepreneurial mind-set, strategic business planning, focused decision-making and willingness to develop oneself are fundamental characteristics for our Franchisees.

The price of a restaurant typically ranges from EUR 850 000 to EUR 2 000 000: it is always unique to a given restaurant, location, sales, profitability, future projections and the selling entity, which can be an another Franchisee or the local Food Folk company. You will need to provide at least 25 % of the value as unencumbered funds, while the remaining can be funded through a bank loan. A one-off Franchise Fee of USD 45 000 is also required at the start of a Franchise. There are also ongoing fees. These include:

• Monthly rent on the premises, based on sales and profitability (usually ranging from 11 % to 17 %). Typically, this rent is fixed for 20 years on the initial term. Rent is calculated over a 10 year period factoring in projected sales and projected profitability.
• Service Fee, or Royalty, for use of the McDonald's System, currently 5 % of monthly sales.
• Marketing Contribution to the National Marketing Co-operative spend, currently typically 4, 5 % of monthly sales.

You would also need to divest any and all other business interests prior to commencing the full-time Restaurant Training. And when it comes to nature of our Franchise agreement, it is always an agreement between us and you i.e. with one individual, the Franchisee, meaning that no outside partners or investors are permitted. On the bit more technical side of matters, you must have legal capacity and not been convicted of a criminal offence which is not a spent conviction. Also, a credit report will be required, and we will also complete an identification check.

And what about restaurant location? After successfully completing the whole Application Program you will be eligible to purchase your first restaurant. This can be through a transaction between you and another Franchisee, or a purchase directly from us. For the Danish market, the transaction would currently be between you and another Franchisee as the market is fully franchised. It is noteworthy to understand that we are unable to confirm any specific site or location prior to this step as our portfolio evolves over time and lives through its life-cycle with currently existing Franchisees and market developments. This is why in the application form we have questions for you on your geographical preferences and flexibility. During the application process we will discuss geography-related matters with you and this web application is just the beginning.

In the end of the day, many of the above points encapsulate into what we call for from each and every of our Franchisees: your undisputed willingness to devote your full time and best effort into the McDonald's franchise and business.