12:40 PM EDT, 08/21/2024 (MT Newswires) -- McDonald's (MCD) said Wednesday it plans to open more than 200 restaurants in the UK and Ireland over the next four years in an expansion drive that entails an investment of 1 billion British pounds, or about $1.31 billion.

The expansion is expected to create more than 24,000 jobs, the company said, adding that the plan includes testing new restaurant formats.

McDonald's also said it will continue to upgrade and reimage more than 1,500 existing restaurants across the UK and Ireland.

Shares of the company rose 1.2% in recent trading.

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