McDonald’s UK and Ireland chief executive Alistair Macrow has announced that the company will be adding between 10p and 20p to a number of items on its menu, citing increased costs for things like fuel, wages and ingredients. In an email to customers, Macrow said that the company had delayed and minimised the price changes for as long as possible, but that rising costs had forced their hand.

McDonald’s said it would increase the price of some items on its menu in the UK by up to 50p as a result of rising costs. The company said the cost of beef, coffee, buns and packaging had all gone up. Other items that are increasing in price include breakfast meals, large coffees, McNugget share boxes and upgrades from medium to large meals, the company said. A spokesperson for McDonald’s said: “From time to time, we have to assess our menu prices to ensure that the investments we are making reflect the real-life changes our customers are seeing.” The last time McDonald’s increased its prices in the UK was in November 2017. If the price of a McDonald’s cheeseburger had increased in line with inflation it would now cost £1.42. The company has more than 1,270 restaurants in the UK and employs more than 120,000 people.

The most expensive Big Macs in the world

The Big Mac Index was created by The Economist in 1986 as a way of tracking the cost of living in different countries around the world. The index is based on the theory of purchasing power parity, which states that two currencies are in equilibrium when a basket of goods costs the same in both countries. In practice, this means that the cost of a Big Mac can be used to compare the relative purchasing power of different currencies. The most recent figures from The Economist show that Britain is the 14th most expensive country to buy a Big Mac, with a price of £3.69 ($4.44). This is considerably cheaper than the most expensive country on the list, Switzerland, where a Big Mac costs $6.71. Norway, Uruguay, Sweden, and Canada round out the top five, with prices ranging from $5.59 to $6.26. Thus, while the cost of a Big Mac in Britain is not cheap, it is still relatively affordable when compared to other developed countries.