"It’s been incredibly exciting."
McDonald’s is one of the most popular fast food chains on a global scale.
When the world of business intertwines with food and drink, the results can be extraordinary.
That was exactly the case for Anisha Sharma, who previously worked in wealth management.
As a former landlord, Anisha had a proud portfolio of six properties. However, in 2022, she became a McDonald’s franchisee.
She now owns and runs four branches of the restaurant in and around her hometown of Southall, West London.
Delving into this, Anisha explained: “I grew up around hospitality. My dad owned a snooker and pool club.
“My sister and I were basically brought up there.
“Watching my dad have a real passion for his work, which was really sociable, was something I really wanted to emulate.
“There’s a nostalgia with the brand. As a child, my parents would get me McDonald’s as a bribe.
“My husband had his fifth birthday party in one of the stores I own.”
Carlisle-based Henry Trefenko owns two branches of McDonald’s.
He emphasised his keenness to highlight the level of commitment to the brand.
He said: “To see significant returns, like any business owner, you need to be truly invested.
“In buy-to-let, you buy a property with a capital investment, and you manage it or give it to an estate agent to do that.
“It’s almost handing over the operations to somebody else.
“But McDonald’s is a 24-hour business.
“Whether a customer is coming in for breakfast or at 10 pm, I need to make sure that the product is exactly the same.
“I need to be in and around my business, and take enormous pride in it.
“And you’ve got to build and lead teams – I employ 205 people.”
Anisha added: “You’re very immersed in it. I’m nosy – I want to be in every part of the business.
“I certainly didn’t expect to be an expert in drainage and plumbing.
“The buck stops with you. There is a gravity to the decisions that you make.
“This is not something you invest your money in and walk away from.
“But it’s been incredibly exciting as a journey – there are so many pinch-me moments that I never had as a buy-to-let landlord.
“We’ve had 16-year-olds come to work here, shy and unsure of themselves, and they go off to an apprenticeship full of confidence.
“We have given them that.”
A spokesman for the fast food chain recently informed the BBC of the restaurant’s confidence in doing everything it can for its employees.
This came after employees admitted that they still faced sexual harassment over a year after the chief executive promised action.
The spokesman enthused: “These actions include everything from enhanced training programmes and onboarding practices, through to the launch of a new digital ‘Speak up’ channel designed with our and our franchisees’ restaurant crew in mind.
“We are confident that the plan we have in place is working and making a difference to the near 170,000 people currently employed by McDonald’s and our franchisees across McDonald’s in the UK and Ireland today.”
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