BLACKBURN'S billionaire Issa brothers' EG Group is to create more than 32,000 jobs globally over the next five-years.

The international recruitment drive is a result of new investment in its foodservice business.

Some 22,700 of the new jobs will be created in the UK by December 2026, including 210 new highly-skilled and entry level roles at its head office in Blackburn where it currently employs 900 staff.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the co-founders and co-chief executives of EG Group, said: “As EG continues to go from strength to strength, we will be creating a large number of new jobs over the coming years, particularly in our successful foodservice business ‒ which remains a significant growth opportunity globally.

"We are proud to be a business founded in Britain that invests in job creation worldwide, while focusing heavily on the training and development of colleagues.

“EG has a strong track record of providing colleagues with long-term opportunities to progress their career at all levels and we are passionate about continuing this.”

Blackburn with Darwen Council's regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said "This is excellent news.

"Having a company like EG based in Blackburn can only be good for the local economy and for jobs. This is clearly an example of that."

The firm has also increased the average hourly pay to £10.05 for its UK staff, aged 18 and above,.

This follows two pay rises to more than10,000 UK workers last year in recognition of the rising cost-of-living.

In the UK, the EG Group will deliver many of the new jobs by rolling out its proprietary brands to new sites.

The brands are Cooplands, the nation’s second-biggest bakery chain, and LEON, the 'naturally fast food' brand.

It will also create new jobs by accelerating openings for its existing third-party brand partners - notably Starbucks and KFC.

Approximately 9,700 new jobs will also come from growth in EG’s nine overseas markets.

Cooplands plans to open 30 outlets a year through 2026.

The group is also to open 50 LEON restaurants a year through 2026, primarily in the UK, with 10 in the Netherlands, ahead of a wider European expansion.

EG’s UK apprenticeship scheme will see its first cohort of 33 apprentices graduating in September.

Approximately 200 apprentices are currently working across the group, expected to increase to 500 over the next three years.

EG Group’s unaudited FY21 results in March reported a 16.3 per cent increase its underlying profits.