Fast food giant McDonald’s today said it had seen its 17th straight quarter of sales growth in the UK, despite the impact of the World Cup on footfall.

The group, which was one of the official World Cup sponsors, said sales suffered a "low single digit" percentage impact on England match days, although this was limited by the team’s early exit at the end of last month.

Its UK operation saw sales growth on the previous quarter and year-on-year, helping drive comparable European revenues up 5.2% in the three months to the end of June. Earnings lifted by 9%, or 14% with currency effects stripped out.

On a global basis, McDonald’s posted earnings up 10% to 1.85 billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) and like-for-like sales ahead 4.8%.

Jill McDonald, senior vice-president at McDonald’s UK, said: "We are seeing growth right across the menu, in the ’saver’ option but also across the premium end as people look to treat themselves."

She added that consumer confidence had fallen and remains "unsettled", but expects McDonald’s to weather the storm.

McDonald’s - headquartered in Illinois, America - is in the middle of a major cafe-style refit for its UK stores, having spent £95 million on its refurbishment programme last year.

The focus for the next six months will be on its drive-through outlets, having largely completed refurbishments for high street restaurants, according to McDonald’s.

It is also on track with aims to take on another 5,000 employees in the UK this year.

Today’s figures showed half-year earnings of 3.52 billion dollars (£2.29 billion) across the group, 14% higher than a year earlier. Net income rose 12% to 2.32 billion dollars (£1.41 billion) over the six months.