McDonald's franchisee snaps up brace of Walsall restaurants

The two additional sites will see Wright Restaurants expand to 17 restaurants. It has just launched a newly refurbished McDonald’s outlet in Solihull which is one of five opened in the last three months.

Local McDonald’s restaurant franchisee Douglas Wright has re-opened the Solihul outlet after funding support from Royal Bank of Scotland enabled significant refurbishment with a complete refit and refresh of the previous outlet.

This comes on the back of a period of significant growth for Wright Restaurants which also recently acquired two McDonald’s restaurants in Walsall located in Rushall and Reedswood which have also been funded by the bank.

Situated on Solihull High Street, the newly refurbished 250 seat restaurant has been completely updated as part of McDonald’s ‘Experience of the Future’ project and benefits from innovative self-order kiosks as well as traditional table service. There are also interactive tablet computers on some of the restaurant tables for customers to enjoy while they dine and access to free Wifi.

Douglas Wright is a long standing McDonald’s franchisee, setting up his first outlet in Lichfield in May 2003 and today operates 17 sites across the Midlands. He has also recently been successful at the Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield & Tamworth Chambers’ New Year Business Dinner and Awards in January where Wright Restaurants was awarded Business of the Year. Douglas Wright also won the Sutton Coldfield Chamber President’s Award in recognition of his work in the community. He is the chairman of the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Birmingham which he has made a significant contribution to over the last two years.

Situated close to the Birmingham Children’s Hospital the Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham is one of the largest purpose-built accommodation facilities providing 66 bedrooms to families so that they can be close to their children when in hospital.

Douglas Wright, managing director of Wright Restaurants, said: “The new restaurant is outstanding and I am very excited about its opening and the continued growth of the business. I have expanded over the last year and today have 17 McDonald’s outlets across the Midlands. I am delighted to be able to continue my investment across the region and create modern restaurants which embrace technology. The new look restaurant ensures that we continue to improve the customer experience and address the trend of customisation and personalisation that customers expect when ordering.

The recent acquisitions in Walsall are part of my ongoing growth strategy to expand the number of outlets we operate.

“Royal Bank of Scotland has been incredibly supportive, and I would like to thank Jas Sandhu for his continued confidence in my business.”

Jas Sandhu, relationship director at Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to support Douglas with his latest McDonald’s opening and recent acquisitions. Douglas is a very successful franchisee which is further backed up by his recent awards at the local Chamber dinner. The refurbished restaurant in Solihull is fantastic displaying a complete transformation. I am delighted to support this exciting change in the business and franchisees like Douglas.”