Pret A Manger sold £1 billion for the first year in its history, as it expanded into international markets. Now, £1 of every £4 is spent outside the UK.The sandwich chain has expanded its global portfolio of 690 stores and opened 81 new shops around the world in the past year. Of these, more than half were located outside the UK. These countries included the United States, Canada India, Greece, and Spain.
The company’s rapid growth in India was due to the opening of 15 stores in Mumbai and Delhi in just 12 months. Its joint venture with Dallas International also drove sales in the US.
The growing global footprint of Pret contributed to an increase of 22 per cent in global sales last year to £1.1 billion, pushing the adjusted profit up 12 per cent to £166 millions. Pret has achieved its 2021 goal of doubling business size by 2026, three years earlier than scheduled.
Pano Christou said that the company’s chief executive had set himself some challenging targets. “We have achieved them,” he added. The fact that £1 of every £4 has now been spent outside the UK represents both an accomplishment and an opportunity for Pret.
Sales in the first six months of the year were up 10% compared to the same period in 2023. They totalled £569 millions.Pret, despite its international expansion plans, said that the company “remains proudly British and British-built”.It has also opened ten stores in Ireland. More than four fifths of new shops opened by the company since January 2023 have been located outside London.
Pret has faced many challenges on its way to success, including the fatality of Natasha Ednan Laperouse in 2016. She died after eating a baguette with olives and tapenade from a Pret branch at Heathrow.Inquests into her death revealed that nine times before her death, the company was warned about a potential allergic reaction. However, they did not act.
Celia Marsh, 42 years old, died in 2017 after anaphylactic reactions when she ate flatbreads from Pret.The chain said that it has reduced the prices of some of its best-selling items after previously raising prices to offset rising costs.
Pret was founded in 1986 by Julian Metcalfe & Sinclair Beecham who opened the first outlet in London on Victoria Street. Bridgepoint sold it to JAB Holding Company in 2018 for £1.5 billion. This is the German conglomerate that owns Krispy Kreme. It employs 12,000.
The company said that shareholders raised £250,000,000 of new capital in this month, to improve liquidity and reduce some banking facilities.
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