Maybe in 2011, when he started redeveloping the McDonald’s brand in Greece and finally managed to “resurrect” it, the country was in a deep recession, but in his estimation, there was a significant opportunity in the market. Reason for Premier Capital Plc., which has the rights to develop the well-known McDonald’s restaurant chain in Greece and five other countries and yesterday opened its 29th store in Greece in one of the most touristic spots in Athens, Dionisiou Areopagitou Street, a few meters from Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, in the Plaka area and almost opposite the Pillars of Olympian Zeus. In fact, according to Melo Healy, president of Premier Capital Plc., the company plans to open 22 more stores in the next five years, building a chain of about 50 stores and doubling its current workforce of 1,500.

Already this year, according to Ms. Simone Mancinelli, CEO of Premier Capital Hellas, a subsidiary of Premier Capital Plc. in Greece – during yesterday’s presentation of the Dionysiou Areopagitou store, three more stores are planned to open: one in Petru Ralli Street, which is under construction, one in Çaydari, which is in the licensing phase, and another that will probably be outside Athens. The company is particularly interested in developing stores on the islands and in general in tourist areas, and is also considering the development of a store as part of a major investment in Elliniko, as well as in the Vouliagmeni Avenue area.

However, several stores that the company plans to develop in tourist areas will be seasonal, that is, they will only operate during the tourist season. It is noted that already four McDonald’s stores are seasonal. In addition, as Ms. Mancinelli noted, Premier Capital is very interested in the development of shops and airports, although it has not yet managed to win any of the tenders held.

Since 2011, when Maltese Premier Capital started operating in Greece, it has invested more than 35 million euros, and in 2022, its investments amounted to about 7 million euros. The new store in the Acropolis area is an investment in excess of 1 million euros and employs 60 people.

In 2022, the company generated sales of approximately 81 million euros, which is an impressive increase compared to 2021, which amounted to 51.97 million euros, with 20% coming from home delivery services.

The first McDonald’s store in Greece was opened in November 1991 and it is a well-known store in Syntagma Square that is still in operation today. Until the mid-2000s, the American chain operated about 60 stores in Greece, but then began the path to collapse. In 2011, Premier Capital Plc., founded in 2005 by entrepreneurs who have been associated with McDonald’s in Malta since 1995, took over the development of McDonald’s stores in Greece. In 2007, he did the same for the Baltic countries, and in 2016 he entered the Romanian market.