McDonald's to create 5,000 UK jobs

McDonald's says it will create 5,000 new jobs by the end of next year, taking its total number of employees in the UK to 115,000.

The burger chain said the jobs were needed for new restaurants and extended opening hours.

UK boss Paul Pomroy said the company was committed to the UK, but added that "challenging economic conditions" remained.

McDonald's has seen 41 consecutive quarters of sales growth in the UK.

"As a major UK employer, we have added more than 15,000 people to our workforce during the last five years as a result of our sustained business growth and long-term investment in recruitment and training," he added.

"Growth has been driven by investment and innovation in the restaurant experience, new restaurants and extended opening hours - over half of our stores are now open 24/7 throughout the week."

The government said the new jobs pointed to confidence in the UK economy after Britain's vote to leave the EU.

"Today's announcement underlines that businesses are confident that the UK remains open for business," said Business Secretary Greg Clark.

On Tuesday, the global McDonald's business reported a 3.5% drop in total revenue to $6.27bn (£4.8bn) during the second quarter of the year, with profits down 9.1% to $1.09bn.

Sales at US restaurants open at least 13 months rose 1.8%, but this was below analysts' forecasts and the burger giant said it faced "a challenging environment in several key markets".