Chirag Pandya, a 30-year-old entrepreneur, has become England’s youngest McDonald’s franchisee thanks to a six-figure funding package from HSBC UK.
Chirag Pandya
Pandya, who owns CJP Group Operations (CJP), will operate the McDonald’s restaurant in Nottingham on Castle Bridge Road, having completed its franchise training programme earlier this year.
The funding package has assisted Pandya to purchase the 450 sq. metre site which serves an average of 1,600 customers per day. The restaurant has two floors with a seating capacity of 150 and features a ‘drive thru’ and a 40-space car park.
As the business grows, Pandya plans to take on up to 50 new staff members, adding to the 120 existing staff and expand its apprenticeship programme that supports young people in the local community. In the coming years, the business also intends to fund a modernised refurbishment.
It is somewhat of a career change for Pandya, who professionally trained as a pharmacist before leaving for a career in the City of London as a strategy consultant for PwC. He was then headhunted at the age of 27 to become a director of the NHS in the UK.
‘I’m loving it!’
Pandya said: “While I trained as a pharmacist, I knew I always wanted to own my own business. I spoke about my ambitions with HSBC UK franchise director Marc Talbot almost two years ago, and now this deal has made my dream a reality. After completing the challenging, but rewarding, McDonald’s franchise training programme, I can finally say I’ve taken the leap from pharmacy to finance, to fries, and I’m loving it!
Judy Jenner, relationship manager at HSBC UK, added: “It is wonderful to support CJP to acquire this site. Its plan to increase apprenticeships and create more jobs in the area presents a brilliant opportunity for both the business and the community it now serves.”
HSBC UK has an exclusive team of franchise specialists who support new franchisees with finance packages and help business owners successfully grow their existing franchises. For more information, visit HSBC UK Franchise.
Posted: 7th September, 2024