RIGA - The Maltese-based firm that recently acquired the McDonald's franchises in the Baltics has said investors want to expand the chain aggressively.
Premier Capital hopes to double the number of fast food restaurants in Latvia, said Melo Hili, the new administrator of Latvian, Lithuania and Estonian restaurants.
"First, we have to renovate all the existing 18 restaurants, and then we will open new ones," Hili said in an interview with Latvian business weekly Lietiska Diena.
"We do not know yet precise numbers and dates, but we hope we will manage to double the number of restaurants in Latvia. Taking into account the number of residents, McDonald's chain has to grow here as customers are satisfied with what we are offering," he said.
Hili said that McDonald's will develop aggressively and intensely in the Baltics, but the company is first studying the market, so no detailed plans have been made.
Hili said that the company plans to complete a 5 million euro upgrading of all Baltic restaurants in the coming years.
Premier Capital has bought the McDonald's franchise in all the three Baltic states from the McDonald's Corporation.
Currently McDonald's has six fast food restaurants in Riga. The first opened in 1994.
In 2006 McDonald's in Latvia generated 5.9 million lats (8.4 million euros) in sales, up 41.6 percent year-on-year. Earnings rose fourfold to 341,300 lats.
McDonalds was established in 1955 and at present is the largest fast food chain in the world. More than 75 percent of McDonald's restaurants are operating on franchise agreements.
