McDonald’s is revamping many of its restaurants with 200 outlets set to be ’re-imaged’ by the end of next year.

"We are giving the stores a more modern and contemporary feel," Lorraine Homer, media relations manager of McDonald’s UK, told British Baker. "Furnishings are more tactile and less plastic."

The redesign programme, which has been running for 18 months, features leather and wood finishes with furnishings in new colours, including green, brown and red.

The menu has also been updated with a new premium sandwich - the Chicken Legend - launched this month. It comes on a lightly toasted, rustic roll.

Other new products include the Toasted Deli Sandwich and Chicken Snack Wraps. And coffee has switched to Rainforest Alliance certified coffee.

"The informal eating out sector is increasingly competitive with more and more players in the market," said Homer. She said the sector had more than doubled over the last five years. "Businesses need to stand out and be more relevant to customers in order to win share. For McDonald’s this means good food served fast, choice and variety, and also refreshing our restaurants, many of which were looking dated."

In October, the company announced that it would roll-out free high-speed wireless internet access across almost 1,200 restaurants in the UK. According to McDonald’s, people are looking to access the internet on the move, whether it’s on their laptops, mobile phones or games consoles.