Four Fries-Franchise Alumna is Lovin’ It!

With a busy career in Wealth Management and as a landlord, Anisha Sharma née Jagtiani, Class of 2004, decided in 2022 to switch things up by taking on franchises for the famous burger chain, McDonald’s. The four branches she now owns and runs are all in the Southall area of West London, where she and her sister, Shafali Jagtiani, Class of 2008, and a fellow franchisee, grew up.  

Anisha is now reaping the rewards of her career change while enjoying some lightheated sibling rivalry. Anisha jests: “it was my idea to take on the franchises, but Shafali beat me to it!”

With Shafali owning the franchises for three of her own restaurants, there's plenty of 'mystery shopping' going on between the sisters. As Anisa shares: “I order from Shafali's branches and pick her up on things. She can’t take it personally, because she’s my sister.”  

It seems the apple didn't fall far from the tree with the sisters, their father owned hospitality businesses and this really influenced Anisha's career choices: “Watching my dad have a real passion for his work, which was really sociable, was something I really wanted to emulate.”  

Anisha may not have known as a child that she’d become a proud owner of McDonald’s restaurants but she was definitely given the best start with an education at Lady Eleanor Holles:

“LEH provided the foundation for me to be bold, to take up space, and to lead with passion and purpose — particularly in my journey as a female business owner.”

It’s fantastic to see women at the helm in business and inspiring not only our wider alumnae community, but also our current LEH students. You can read more about Anisha’s success in The Telegraph. ‘I ditched my buy-to-lets and bought four McDonald’s. It’s a better investment’