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14.05.2020 4 NEWS PREMIER Capital plc, the Mal- tese-owned Developmental Licen- cee for McDonald's in six Europe- an markets, has posted a pre-tax profit of €28 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, up from €23 million in 2018. Last year, the group registered a 16.2% increase in turnover to realise revenue of €341 million. anks to its team of more than 8,800 people in 156 restaurants in Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Romania, Premier Cap- ital served 131 million customers last year, 11 million more than in 2018, yet again setting a new guest count record for the group. All markets reported significant and even accelerated growth, with Greece registering the highest ad- vancement on 2018 with 23.4%, followed by Romania (18.7%), Lat- via (12.2%), Lithuania (10.1%), Es- tonia (8.2%), and Malta (7.6%). Premier Capital opened 12 new restaurants last year: seven in Ro- mania, one in Lithuania, one in Latvia and three in Greece. Two restaurants were closed across the network. A further 32 restaurants were upgraded to accommodate Mc- Donald's newest service and digi- tal platforms allowing for the roll out of table service and self-or- dering kiosks, bringing the total of converted restaurants to 97. By the end of 2019, a total of 87 restau- rants had deployed McDelivery. e outlook for 2020 has been impacted by the COVID-19 pan- demic. Operations have been scaled back in compliance with measures implemented by local health authorities over the past few weeks. Some restaurants have been closed but most others con- tinue to serve customers with an even greater focus on convenience through take away, McDrive and McDelivery. Stringent cost containment measures are in place, there is constant re-budgeting and review, and capital expenditure has largely been put on hold. At the begin- ning of 2020, the group had orig- inally projected to open 12 new restaurants in 2020. is for now has been revised to five. In 2019, Premier Capital plc registered a 16.2% increase in turnover McDonald's licencee Premier Capital posts €28 million pre-tax profit in 2019 MGA and Swedish Football Association sign data-sharing deal THE Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has recently established a data-sharing agreement with the Swed- ish Football Association (SvFF). e SvFF is the gov- erning body for football in Sweden. e objective of the SvFF is to make sure that foot- ball in Sweden always adheres to laws and regulations that govern all sporting events and entities within their remit. Moreover, they constantly work towards making sure that football is a discrimination-free sport specif- ically at their national level. is data-sharing agreement is the latest of a series of other high-profile agreements which have been signed by the MGA over the past few months, name- ly agreements with the Malta Football Association, the Tennis Integrity Unit, the International Cricket Council, and the International Olympic Committee to name a few. is fight against matching fixing and manipulation of sports relies on cooperation and effective exchange of information. e MGA's Sports Integrity Manager, Antonio Ze- rafa said that the data-sharing agreement between the MGA and the SvFF allows for the relationship be- tween the two entities to not be limited to discussions of best practices only, but to also allow for the transfer of data in relation to investigations of manipulation in sports competitions. "Undoubtedly, this further strengthens the MGA's commitment to assisting Sports Governing Bodies in their fight against match-fixing," he said. FROM PAGE 1 Strong incentives, strategies and cam- paigns will therefore be necessary to en- sure positive economic activity, it said. Following the setting up of an SME taskforce to work on proposals in this regard together with a wider consulta- tion exercise carried out with members, the Malta Chamber of SMEs has pre- sented a comprehensive document with proposals of what Malta needs to start strengthening the economic activity af- ter stalling for two months. e following are the main highlights of the proposals presented: 1. Income tax brackets to be revised so that income not exceeding €100,000 in profits are taxed up to 20%. 2. Removal of SISA from consum- er goods such as shampoos, per- fumes and beauty products as well as other products such as tires, to reduce prices of such products and remove the significant bu- reaucratic burden on the business- es involved, with the exception of alcohol and tobacco products. 3. Introduction of a special scheme that would tackle rent problems shops are facing. We are propos- ing a shared burden for payment of rents by the landlord, the gov- ernment and the tenant until there is an improvement is business ac- tivity. 4. Conversion of the existing Mi- croInvest tax credits into cash grants to inject liquidity into busi- nesses. 5. Re-employment subsidy scheme for persons that have lost their job due to Covid by covering €500 of their wage for one year upon en- gagement.Targeted aid for people experiencing problems in afforda- bility through an incentivised spending mechanism by putting in place a grant that covers up to 50% of a spend and capped at €3,000 against VAT receipts for making tangible investments in existing properties. 6. Revisiting the legal framework to have measures available in times of crisis like the one we are current- ly experiencing. is experience has thought us how unfit certain laws and contracts can be, which leave no way out for private opera- tors resulting in great distress and long-term damage. 7. Supporting of a campaign incen- tivizing local production and local purchases to decrease dependence on imports and encourage con- sumers to support and prioritise local businesses. 8. Incentives for businesses for on- line strategies to continue invest- ing in refining their online pres- ence and adapting their business models for the modern technology based society. 9. Lowering bank charges and in- terest rates for businesses and consumers to limit loss of funds through such services in a time when investment and spending should be encouraged. Giving sup- port to smaller banks to be able to compete will also help the situa- tion. 10. Setting up an immediate, medi- um and long term plan for Malta's tourism strategy. Although the plans should not be set in stone planning for the restart of safe tourism movements, plans are needed. As an SME Chamber we agree with the strategy of tour- ism corridors between Covid safe countries and also Covid tests for tourists travelling. 11. Incentives for green economy to generate sustainable green jobs and a stronger concerted effort to- wards climate change. 12. Special incentives for Gozo to generate more local tourism and investment across the islands. 13. Earmark investment opportuni- ties that the country needs for businesses to shift and diversify their interests, to add value to the Maltese economy. Income tax bracket revision and business rent scheme among SMEs Chamber proposals to reignite the economy

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