McDonald's employee went from burger flipper to millionaire franchisee

The Golden Arches of McDonald's have been kind to a franchise holder in the UK. Photo / Getty Images

It started as a part-time job to generate cash for a college canoeing holiday but now Dean Chapman owns four of the biggest and busiest franchises in the UK.

The 49-year-old chose to snub university to serve burgers for £7 (NZ$14) an hour at McDonald's in Leicester.

But he worked his way up the ranks and now runs four successful stores in Birmingham with a turnover of over £13 million (NZ$26 million).

Chapman's blue-collar parents, his dad was a painter and mum a machinist, were less than thrilled by the idea but he quickly showed that there was a future with the famous golden arches.

Initially, Chapman was going to study to become an electrical engineer and would have been the first in his family to go to university.

However, he ended up getting a part-time job at McDonald's to pay for a holiday but returned from his trip to take on full-time work at the joint according to Birmingham Live.

"I remember sitting in class at college, putting my hand up to ask to be excused to go to the toilet and being told I couldn't and that I should have gone on a break," he said.

That was the last time Chapman would be at college before he threw himself full-time into McDonald's.

The dad-of-three worked his way from crew member to running his own restaurant at 21 before becoming Leicester area manager at 27.

"While going through the ranks I got a lot of training and business qualifications at what we call hamburger university – an office in Sutton Coldfield," he said.

Chapman eventually worked his way up to head of franchising UK in 2010 where he helped franchise owners run and manage their restaurant more effectively.

However, he resigned in 2015 because as he climbed the corporate ladder he moved away from what he loved – the interaction with staff.

FRANCHISE OWNER

So he quit to become his own franchisee and he started with two in Birmingham on Stephenson Place and Dale End.

Birmingham is the UK's second-largest city and roughly the same population size as Adelaide.

It is not that simple to become a franchisee owner, as potential owners need to have an outlay of £100,000 (NZ$200,000) and be accepted for the application program, according to Chapman.

"There is an extensive application process. Then there is a nine-month training period after that," he said.

Dean Chapman started his McDonald's career flipping burgers. Photo / File

The process is similar in Australia but requires an outlay of NZ$1.25 million and a minimum 12-month unpaid training program.

Successful applicants in Australia must make a 20 year commitment and open a regional location anywhere in Australia after training.

All McDonald's in Birmingham are franchise-owned but Chapman said that the franchise model was not the popular model initially.

"It was not the UK model then. Now around 85 per cent of McDonald's restaurants in the UK are franchises. It has grown hugely," he said.

According to public accounts published for the year ending in 2018, Chapman generates a turnover of £13.6 million (NZ$27 million) a year.

He puts his success down to hard work plus a little bit of luck along the way.

"If you put your heart and soul into the work, the opportunities are there."

Chapman said that anyone can move up the ranks and that was the most rewarding part about being involved with McDonald's.

"I think it would be frustrating to work somewhere where there were no ways to progress – absolutely the opportunities are there in McDonald's if you want them," he said.

- News.com.au