An entrepreneur has told how he went from earning just £25 a week to becoming the biggest McDonald's franchisee holder in the UK.

Paul Crocker employs more than 1,700 people in Kent - owning nearly every McDonald's branch there.

He now operates 16 branches in the county, with the latest being those he acquired from other franchisees in Dover and Ashford back in 2014.

Earlier the restaurant at Margate High Street marked 40 years at a special celebratory event, reports Kent Live.

But it wasn't always this way for Paul, who started his career at 14 in Leicester, working in his parents' riding school for free.

It was only when he finished his A-Levels that he decided he needed a little bit of cash to tide him over, teaching kids, looking after horses and show-jumping for £25 a week.

When the family upped sticks and moved from the Midlands to the west country, Paul took over from his mum and stepdad to run the family business, which was a seven-day-a-week venture.

"While riding other peoples' horses was always great fun, it wasn't a very viable business," Paul told Kent Live.

"We had far too many horses, when we were in Leicester there were hundreds riding every week, but when we were in the west country it was just dozens."

When Paul acquired the Margate branch in 1995, Mr Knell became the restaurant manager and 28 years later he plays a crucial role in supporting the operation of Paul's 21 Kent restaurants.

And staff clearly love working there, as Dave Hewett was part of the opening team in Margate and 40 years later he is still there and received a long service award. At the party, he even played the part of DJ.

In 2017, reporter Lauren MacDougall interviewed Paul Crocker and found out more about the man who likes to be on the 'shop floor' and give service with a smile.

The car enthusiast, who switches between his Land Rover and Porsche, said: "My father and I spent around 13 years running petrol station forecourts across the county. But when my dad retired and I sold up, I decided to become a McDonald's franchisee in Margate in 1995.

"I felt that the times were changing, I saw that the kind of petrol stations we were running were not necessarily going to be able to continue during the massive rise of supermarket petrol stations. Reflecting on this, he added: "Initially, it was, like any new business, a backwards step for me.

"I had to restart completely, in terms of a management team. I had to work a lot more hours, there was a lot more work and lot more risk. What I liked in the petrol business was that you were trading behind a fairly reputable petrol brand.

"People trust the brand names, so in a way, by going into a franchise what I was looking for was a brand name that people could relate to and that could give autonomy to make my own choices and employ my own people. McDonald's ticked all of those boxes - although it, of course, wasn't the only option open to Mr Crocker as he ventured into the world of business solo for the first time.

"I didn't have my family to support me as I have done in the past," he said. "But I did have McDonald's, you work as a partner with them."

His first restaurant in Margate, the father-of-four remembers, came accompanied by some seasonal stress - with winter being particularly quiet. But the 58-year-old quickly developed a taste for Big Macs and went on to purchase over 15 more restaurants in the county in just under 20 years.

Initially McDonald's offered him the franchise for the Ramsgate McDonald's, Westwood then Chestfield. He now operates 16 branches in the county, with the latest being those he acquired from other franchisees in Dover and Ashford back in 2014.

The tycoon subtly hinted that he was very persuasive in getting his hands on those outlets. "In every single one of the restaurants I took on the sales stepped up significantly," he added proudly.

Source:
courtesy of MIRROR

by Lauren MacDougall

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