May 1 (Bloomberg) -- McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, promoted Steve Easterbrook to chief executive officer of its U.K. division, where declining profit last quarter weighed on Europe's results.

Easterbrook, formerly chief operating officer in the U.K., is requiring McDonald's 12,000 employees in the country to take training to improve service. The company said in an April 27 statement it's experimenting with new restaurant designs after adding carrot sticks and other healthier foods to attract mothers concerned about their children's nutrition.

McDonald's lower U.K. profit contributed to a 15 percent drop to $261.1 million in Europe's first-quarter operating profit, according to a regulatory filing. The company closed 25 high-rent U.K. restaurants last quarter, sold 25 other outlets to franchisees and has plans to sell as many as 35 more by the end of 2006.

``We see the beginnings of some progress in the U.K., but we still have a long ways to go,'' Chief Financial Officer Matthew Paull said on a conference call last month.

Easterbrook wasn't available for an interview, McDonald's spokeswoman Anna Rozenich said today.

Shares of Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's fell 20 cents to $34.37 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have increased 1.9 percent this year, after gaining 5.2 percent in 2005, the worst performance in four years.

Activist Investor

McDonald's faces pressure from activist investor William Ackman to sell restaurants to franchisees and licensees who operate more profitably than company managers. The chain in January ceded to Ackman's demand to provide increased information about the margins of company-owned stores, which lag franchisees in profitability.

Ackman, whose New York-based hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP owns McDonald's shares, afterwards dropped his campaign for a public offering of all company-owned restaurants.

Easterbrook, 38, succeeded Peter Beresford, who was reassigned to lead strategic global brand development, a new position at McDonald's headquarters. Beresford, 55, had also worked as president of the company's Northern Europe region.
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