Cleaner. Entrepreneur. Philanthropist

Catriona Attride interviews Doug Wright MBE, philanthropist and businessman, on his successful career with McDonald’s, where he started as a cleaner and worked his way up to franchisee. They discuss the launch of the Ronald McDonald House Charities for sick children, as well as Doug’s latest project, Kids’ Village. 

How did your journey begin?

My path to becoming a businessman was definitely not formulaic. I was always a bit of a dreamer, but I was very self-motivated and believed anything is possible. I struggled academically, which was very disappointing given I was adopted by two devout teachers. All I ever wanted was to achieve 10 O-levels, but I only managed one. That was a difficult moment. At that point, my mum turned to me and said, “What are you going to do?” I replied, “I’m going to find a job, start at the very bottom and ultimately own part of that business one day”. My mum thought I was crackers, but from that day onwards, something had spurred me on. 

My first job was as a cleaner at McDonald’s. I was paid 93p an hour. In 1985, at the age of 20, I was appointed McDonald’s youngest ever UK 
Restaurant Manager. 

A year into this appointment I was involved in a serious accident where I broke my neck. I was only 20 years old and I was paralysed from the neck down for several months. Even though the doctor said I might never walk again, I believed I would recover and become successful so that I could help others one day.

18 months after the accident, I returned to work at McDonald’s and had to diversify my career because of my limited mobility. I relocated to  Sutton Coldfield in the Birmingham Regional Office. I worked in several support departments, predominantly in their acquisition and construction teams. In 1990, I was awarded The President’s Award, which is given annually to their best ten UK employees and is chosen from their entire workforce of 75,000 people. 

How did you become a franchisee of McDonald’s?

After 21 years at McDonald’s, I applied to become a franchisee in October 2002. In those days, there was no email – you had to fill in your application and post it. After weeks of waiting, I was invited to the head office in London. The interview went well, or so I thought. I landed all the points and explained why they should support me. However, when they asked how much money I had to invest and I proudly said, “I’ve got £612”, the boardroom went silent. Everyone looked at their shoes. After a brief silence, they thanked me and said they’d be in touch.

Weeks later, I received the golden envelope: I was appointed as a McDonald’s franchisee. Then came the challenge of finding a bank willing to partner with me.

Initially, it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. Being a business owner sounds glamorous, but the reality is I had never worked harder. In the first year, we took in just over £1 million in revenue but only made £4,000. I wasn’t concerned. I kept focused on my target to own two restaurants and every penny I made I kept in the business.

In January 2006, we bought the second restaurant north of Sutton Coldfield. It was our first drive through and by that time we had 80 employees. I was the proudest man alive. From there onwards, we never looked back. We later scaled up the business from one restaurant to 26.

How did you become a franchisee of McDonald’s?

After 21 years at McDonald’s, I applied to become a franchisee in October 2002. In those days, there was no email – you had to fill in your application and post it. After weeks of waiting, I was invited to the head office in London. The interview went well, or so I thought. I landed all the points and explained why they should support me. However, when they asked how much money I had to invest and I proudly said, “I’ve got £612”, the boardroom went silent. Everyone looked at their shoes. After a brief silence, they thanked me and said they’d be in touch. 

Weeks later, I received the golden envelope: I was appointed as a McDonald’s franchisee. Then came the challenge of finding a bank willing to partner with me. 

Initially, it wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. Being a business owner sounds glamorous, but the reality is I had never worked harder. In the first year, we took in just over £1 million in revenue but only made £4,000. I wasn’t concerned. I kept focused on my target to own two restaurants and every penny I made I kept in the business. 

In January 2006, we bought the second restaurant north of Sutton Coldfield. It was our first drive-through and by that time we had 80 employees. I was the proudest man alive. From there onwards, we never looked back. We later scaled up the business from one restaurant to 26. 

How do you promote a good culture when you’re operating under a corporate brand?

Treat everyone equally – no matter if they’re a board member or a cleaner. We made sure that everyone in the business followed the two H’s: honesty and hard work. 

Though a man of few words, my dad gave me two bits of advice. One was don’t join McDonald’s because they’ll never scale up in the UK (fortunately, as a boy, I only listened half the time). The second piece of advice he gave me was to empower people and give them the opportunity to thrive and lead from the front, in a way that makes them feel valued and special.

The staff turnover in hospitality is very high at around 60% across the industry. I realised the importance of employee retention, not being prepared to accept that rate. We invested heavily in retention tactics and some of those were really simple. For example, we introduced private healthcare and created wellbeing programmes. We made sure that the views of the young people in our company were being properly represented and heard. 

We were operating under a global brand, but what differentiated us was that we made sure we cared about our community. Whether that was by supporting local businesses, the people, or football teams, we looked at what mattered in the community. 

What inspired you to become involved with the Ronald McDonald House Charities?

When I was in hospital all those years ago, my mum slept on the floor next me, not being able to afford to pay for a hotel. That really broke me. Doug the Dreamer lay there thinking, “One day we’ll fix that”.

We began to think about how we could open a Ronald McDonald House in Birmingham. It would be a home away from home for the families of very poorly children. We set out to fundraise to get the capital build cost, which was £9.6 million.

We opened the Ronald McDonald House on the 29 November 2009 at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. It immediately felt special because we created a safe place for people who could be around other families going through a similar situation. Everyone had their own room, with communal kitchens, dining rooms and play areas for siblings. It was very quiet during the day as one parent would look after the child in hospital, and the other would typically stay at home Monday to Friday to work and look after the other children.

I always thought it was the best thing I’d ever done – being able to house 66 families every night. I went from being a pretty useless, super-keen fundraiser when I started, to a very proud Chairman for six years.

What are some of your recent successes?

Joining the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce helped me grow. I eventually became a board member, and I was recognised for my contribution to charity. In 2022, I was honoured to receive an MBE – I was bursting with pride at being one of the last people to receive this from the Queen, as she sadly passed away not long after. 

In 2024, I received a letter from the King asking if I wanted to become the High Sheriff of the West Midlands. I didn’t even know what the High Sheriff was at the time! They champion the judiciary, courts, barristers, the emergency services, work with the local police and attend important functions. My theme for the year as High Sheriff was to shine a light on organisations that were driving community cohesion, in an effort to make the local area a safer and better place. 

Let’s talk about your current project, Kids’ Village – what is it and why is it so important to you?

After Ronald McDonald House, I wanted to start another philanthropy project. I was approached by Sir John Crabtree, a former High Sheriff and chairman of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. He explained that a family from Lichfield were constructing a village for poorly children to enjoy a week’s holiday with their family or friends. 

The founder’s daughter had had a rare form of facial cancer when she was nine, which she has since recovered from. During her treatment, they had visited a holiday village in Florida which provides cost free holidays to children with critical illnesses and their families. Their visit was so impactful that they were determined to bring something similar to the UK. 

Before I joined, the family had managed to secure a donation on a 100 year lease for a site in the Staffordshire countryside and planning permission, which in itself was extraordinary. After hearing their story, I said I would love to join Kids’ Village and accepted the position of Chairman.

The land is Willy Wonka-esque – calm and therapeutic. You’re surrounded by trees and nature, with running water in the background. How amazing is that? Sadly, we can’t make the children better, but what we can do is create magical memories that will last forever for families who could never afford a holiday. They’ll enjoy cooking classes, explore a den where the magic comes alive, and experience sensory rooms, soft play, and so much more.

We’ve worked closely with a number of businesses in the Midlands to make sure that our guests have access to amazing experiences. For example, Birmingham City Football Club were one of the first to reach out and provide us with a number of season tickets.

At the end of November, we received a significant £2.9m donation from the family of an 11-year-old girl named Charlotte, who sadly died from a brain tumour. This means that we’ve now reached our initial £5m capital fundraising target. The site at Wychnor will be known as ‘Charlotte’s Kids’ Village’ and we hope to be open by the Spring of 2027. 

What’s next for you?

When I was 16, nobody would give me a job. Now, I’m flooded with offers. But I’m choosing to pause. I’m full of energy and passionate about life, and I want to use this time to really focus on Kids’ Village and give it the time and attentionit deserves.

I certainly don’t want to work full time again, but I enjoy being a mentor. At the moment, I mentor about 15 entrepreneurs. Although I won’t run another business, I have certainly got something big left in me. And I’m only 60!

What would you say is the trick to being a successful businessperson?

My motto in life is “worry about what you can control”. When I started out in business the economy wasn’t in a great place and there were lots of concerns, as there are today. Don’t let the noise distract you.

We’ve always been rooted in the community and stood by it through each challenging time. It’s not just about running a business, it’s the difference you can make to so many of your employee’s lives and to the businesses and communities you operate in.