McDonald's, the world's biggest fast food chain, is to invest up to €800m in Europe this year because it sees the continent as its biggest growth market.
'Europe is the most exciting region for us at the moment,' company chief Ralph Alvarez told the Financial Times Deutschland.
He added that McDonald's would invest as much money in Europe this year as it would in the US market, even though it had only half as many restaurants in Europe.
McDonald's sales have slowed in recent years, especially in Europe where it has felt the impact of the trend towards healthier eating and lost market share to its rivals.
Alvarez said the company planned to cut back the number of restaurants in Europe owned directly by McDonald's by 5-10% and focus more strongly on franchises.
