McDonald's Corp. shrugged off Brexit by announcing plans to switch its non-U.S. tax base to the U.K., ditching tiny Luxembourg where its fiscal arrangements are under attack from European Union regulators.

In an apparent vote of confidence in the U.K., the hamburger giant said Thursday it's creating a new international holding company based in Britain, which decided in June to quit the EU. The new company will be responsible for most of the royalties received from licensing McDonald's intellectual property rights outside the U.S. It will pay U.K. corporation tax, according to an emailed statement.

"The reasons for changing the location of the corporate structure to the U.K. were sound before Brexit and remain so beyond it," the company said. "These strengths are unlikely to change as the U.K. negotiates leaving the European Union." The Big Mac maker cited the "significant number of staff based in London working on our international business, language, and connections to other markets."