A Suffolk forecourt has become the host for the world’s 40,000th installation of the sandwich franchise Subway. The milestone site is an Applegreen petrol station in Ipswich, Suffolk.

The achievement for Subway which has opened at 1,761 new locations around the world since the start of the year "is testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire Subway team, who I often refer to as the greatest team in franchising history," said president and co-founder Fred DeLuca, who opened the brand’s first sandwich shop in 1965.

He said the latest achievement put the Subway brand far ahead of its competitors in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, making it more convenient for customers to eat a delicious submarine sandwich, flatbread or salad. Of the top QSR chains, he said the next closest is more than 5,500 locations behind the Subway brand; beyond that, the next three are between 21,000 and 33,000 behind.

The company’s area development manager for the UK and Ireland, Trevor Haynes, said there are more than 9,000 non-traditional locations worldwide and about 4,500 of them are in petrol stations and forecourts.