UK regional journalists are to get the chance to work in America as part of a transatlantic expansion by their publisher that will also create a raft of new jobs.

Reach plc has announced it will launch a dedicated operation in the USA next year, with current staff being invited to apply for newly-created roles and overseas secondments.

The expansion will see the launch of US operations for Reach’s national titles the Mirror and the Express, as well as the Irish Star.

But the company also plans to bolster its 24/7 sports coverage on the Manchester Evening News, Football.London and its Liverpool.com websites, in order to serve US-based soccer fans.

The company has yet to reveal precisely how many new jobs will be created by the plan, although it has confirmed that reporting, social media, multimedia and editor roles will be among those on offer.

HTFP has also asked for further information on whether the shift patterns of sports reporters based in the UK will be affected by the plan to increase round-the-clock coverage.

Announcing the expansion, Reach said it plans to secure a New York office and is focused on growing its American audience for the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and a new online iteration of the Irish Star, which is currently a print-only title in Ireland.

The new site will launch as IrishStar.com and will cater to Irish-Americans, with individual correspondents covering New York City, Boston and Pennsylvania.

The company said in a statement: “Recruitment has begun across reporting, social media, multimedia and editor roles, for jobs to start in the new year. Current staff are also invited to apply for roles and overseas secondments.

“Reach will begin hiring journalists already based in the U.S. in the coming months, and is planning to secure a New York office.”

“Reach will also bolster its 24-7 sports coverage to more closely serve U.S. based soccer fans, especially for the Manchester Evening News, FootballLondon and Liverpool.com which covers Liverpool FC.”

The expansion has been led by group editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley and chief digital publisher David Higgerson.

Lloyd, pictured, said: “The experience and data we’ve gathered over recent years, both on our existing national titles and from launching dozens of newsbrands from scratch, will ensure we are in a strong position to take advantage of this opportunity to reach millions more readers every day.”

HTFP first reported three years ago how the possibility of Reach opening an office in the USA had been touted by Kristian Walsh, who headed up the launch of Liverpool.com.

Kristian was later promoted to a group-wide senior sports editor role at Reach, but left the publisher in September this year to become head of audience development at digital publishing group LADbible.