EU – Baltic States, Foodstuff, Good for Business, Markets and Companies

Premier Capital also posted EUR 28 million in profit before tax in 2019, up from EUR 23 million a year earlier.

Premier Capital says that, thanks to a team of 8,800 people, 156 McDonald's restaurants in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Greece, Malta and Romania served a record 131 million patrons last year, which is 11 million more than in 2018.

Premier Capital experienced rapid growth on all markets in 2019. The fastest growth was recorded in Greece - a 23.4% increase as compared to 2018, followed by Romania (18.7%), Latvia (12.2%), Lithuania (10.2%), Estonia (8.2%) and Malta (7.6% increase).

Last year, the Premier Capital restaurant network expanded by opening twelve new restaurants, seven of which opened in Romania, one in Latvia, one in Lithuania and three in Greece. Two restaurants were closed last year.

Meanwhile, 32 restaurants of the group underwent significant modernization projects in line with McDonald's latest innovations, including self-service smart kiosks and table service. By the end of 2019, a total of 97 McDonald's restaurants had been modernized and the McDelivery delivery service introduced at 87 restaurants.

Representatives of Premier Capital acknowledged that the company's plans and projections for 2020 had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The company's operations have been restricted in accordance with healthcare authorities and government's recommendations. On some of the company's markets, Premier Capital was forced to close restaurants temporarily, but most continued to serve visitors by preparing takeaway meals and operating McDrive and McDelivery services.

Premier Capital has also implemented strict cost-cutting measures, constantly monitoring the situation and planning its budget accordingly. Among other things, capital investments have been temporarily suspended. At the beginning of 2020, the company was planning to open twelve new restaurants this year, by now this plan has been reduced to five restaurants.

Premier Capital is the McDonald's business within Hili Ventures, a group present in 10 countries engaged in multi-sited activities with McDonald's and Apple, logistics, engineering, technology, property and leasing.