Cooked and fermented meat supplier Dawn Farm Foods has announced a seven year contract, worth E700m (£631m), to supply Subway’s franchise in Europe.

Subway currently has 1,485 outlets in the UK and Ireland and a further 1,400 across Continental Europe. Dawn Foods chief executive Larry Murrin said it was a significant deal for the firm, which follows major investment in its manufacturing base, supported by Enterprise Ireland.

"Subway has ambitious growth plans for store openings across Europe and, with hard work on both sides, this deal will translate into hundreds of millions of euros in export sales for Ireland over the duration of the seven-year contract," said Murrin.

Mike Attwood, purchasing director of EPIC (the purchasing arm of the Subway sandwich chain), said: "We know Dawn Farms well and we have worked closely together to come up with a deal that makes sense for our franchisees and gives certainty to the supply side of our business as we continue our drive for growth across Europe."