Pret a Manger shareholders fund £100m expansion

Pret a Manger shareholders, including its co-founder, Sinclair Beecham, are pumping £100m into the company to fund expansion despite losses ballooning to £256m during the pandemic.

The group is planning to open more than 200 UK and Irish stores over the next two years, expanding into the London suburbs, regional cities, retail parks and, through franchise deals, in travel locations such as railway stations and motorway services. It is also planning to expand into new international markets in Europe and Asia.

Sales dived almost 60% to £299m last year, multiplying operating losses by more than ten times to £256m from £25m a year before. The company permanently closed 74 outlets in the UK in 2020 and 22 in the US resulting in more than 1,000 job losses.

The latest cash injection from shareholders comes on top of £185m pumped in last year.

Pano Christou, the chief executive, said the company was aiming to hire at least 3,000 more workers by the end of 2023, on top of 2,000 recruited this year, as it bounced back from the pandemic. Pret currently employs 6,400 workers in the UK. “We are definitely much more confident and optimistic about our future [now]. What our shareholders are showing is that they have confidence in the brand. What we have done through Covid is build the foundations for a strong launchpad to grow,” he said.

Christou said Pret’s sales in city centres remained 30% down on preCovid levels but were 20% to 30% up in regional and suburban areas.He said home deliveries now made up more than 7% of sales. In the past year the group had “delivered more change than in 30 years of Pret’s history”, he said.

Pret plans to reintroduce more staff benefits after raising pay by 5% last week and putting its regular service-related bonus back up to £1 an hour.