Subway has announced plans to open 600 new stores in the UK and Ireland over the next four years, with an added emphasis on convenience sites.

President and co-founder of the sandwich chain Fred Deluca said he wants to increase the number of stores in the UK and Ireland to 2,100 by 2015 which would create around 6,000 new jobs. He added that these growth targets have been fuelled by the growing demand for convenient and affordable food.

Subway area development manager Trevor Haynes said the chain would be focusing on sites within existing businesses. “In addition to our traditional store development, we see huge potential in non-traditional locations such as convenience stores, petrol forecourts, hospitals and transport hubs,” he said. “Our target to treble the number of these stores over the next four years will be a leading factor in developing new store locations and in job creation.”

The Subway brand has also signed up to the UK government’s Responsibility Deal pledges which include removing trans fats, reducing salt content and displaying calorie information.