Pret A Manger

“The coffee chain formed a joint venture, known as Empire JointStar, with its franchise operator Dallas Holdings in October 2023, in a bid to accelerate its expansion in the US.”

“The agreement had seen Dallas operate around 50 Pret sites – in locations like New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC – with the aim of opening 10 more by this year.”

“Pret reported £1.2bn in system sales – which includes its company-owned and franchised shops – in the year to January, flat on the previous year, while revenue dipped by two per cent to £854m.”

“The company said its sales jumped by 2.7 per cent, which it put down to the expansion of its store footprint and a boost to sales in the UK.”

“The firm terminated its partnership with Dallas in October 2025, it said, and regained the stores that had been operated by its franchise partner.”

“Pret’s accounts revealed its average headcount at its directly-operated stores fell by eight per cent to 7,531 workers, as of January 2026.”

“The coffee chain cut the price of its Arabica filter coffee to 99p in July 2024, and slashed prices elsewhere on croissants, egg sandwiches and tuna baguettes.”

“Pret said it has seen a “strong” start to this year, with UK sales up eight per cent in the first four months of 2026 as it sees higher customer footfall.”

“The firm currently holds £553m in debt, up five per cent from the previous year, and its debt servicing costs fell by 24 per cent to £70m.”

“Last year, Pret pushed back the terms of its £625m loan facilities to March 2029.”

“The coffee firm faces a £1m animal welfare campaign after it delayed its promise to phase out the use of “frankenchickens” in its food, it emerged earlier this week.”

“Pret a Manger was founded in London in 1983 and was bought by European investment group JAB for £1.5bn in 2018.”