McDonald's set to offer takeaway service in UK

McDonald's is to roll out a long-awaited home delivery trial as UK consumers continue to embrace the rapidly expanding market.

The fast food giant said it was looking to launch a "small" delivery pilot this summer, with specific locations yet to be decided.

A McDonald's spokeswoman said: "It is no secret we have been looking at the potential of delivery in recent months.

"This service is offered in other markets around the world and its growth within the UK continues to gather pace."

The announcement comes a week after KFC launched home deliveries across 30 restaurants in Greater London via the Just Eat platform.

McDonald's UK chief executive Paul Pomroy said: "We will start with a delivery service from the right number of sites that gives us scale.

"I expect we will take a similar approach to the way we rolled out our app, starting small, learning quickly and scaling up very quickly."

Recent figures show home deliveries of ready-to-eat food grew 10 times faster than the eating out market last year.

The delivery sector jumped almost 10% to 599 million visits in Britain last year, while total visits out to restaurants and other dining venues rose by just 1%, according to analysts NPD Group.

The study found the average bill for delivered food is nearly £1 lower than for a meal eaten on the premises.

The delivery channel was worth £3.6 billion last year, a 6% increase on 2015 and 50% more than in 2008.

Cyril Lavenant, foodservice director for the UK at the NPD Group, said ordering ready-to-eat food for delivery via an app or by phone "is growing so fast that 'eating in' is becoming the new 'eating out'".