Elm Restaurants, which is owned by franchise entrepreneur Nick McPartland, has purchased McDonald’s in Forfar from McDonald’s using a loan from HSBC UK. It follows record months of performance for the site and an increase in staff from 96 to 135 over the last six months.

Elm Restaurants also owns and operates a McDonald’s restaurant in Arbroath, and has used HSBC UK funding to add a double drive-thru lane and 75 new indoor and outdoor seats to the location. The updates have already contributed to a significant boost in sales.

Nick McPartland, owner, Elm Restaurants, said: “We were thrilled to be able to purchase our new Forfar restaurant and HSBC UK’s support has been critical to enabling us to do this and improve the customer experience across all of our locations.

“We constantly strive to provide the best experience to our customers and the new drive-thru lane at our Arbroath restaurant was a natural step in making it as easy as possible for our customers to purchase a meal, ultimately driving an increase in sales.”

Susan Rowand, head of Business Banking in Scotland, HSBC UK, added: “Nick is an experienced franchise entrepreneur who has a clear understanding of his customers and how best to serve the communities where he operates. We’re pleased to support ambitious Scottish businesses and look forward to seeing continued growth for Nick and his team.”

Elm Restaurants now employs 500 people across four 24-hour McDonald’s restaurants in Forfar, Arbroath, Monifieith and Dundee.