Pret a Manger facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Fast casual restaurant |
| Founded | 21 October 1983 |
| Founder | Jeffrey Hyman |
| Headquarters |
,
England
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Number of locations
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697 (as of April 2024) |
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Area served
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19 countries and regions |
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Key people
|
Pano Christou (CEO) |
| Products | Sandwich, salads, soups, coffees and snacks |
| Revenue |  £790.1 Million (2022) |
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Operating income
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£52.1 Million (2022) |
| Owner | JAB Holding Company |
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Number of employees
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12,000 (2018) |
Pret a Manger (which means "ready to eat" in French) is a British company that sells sandwiches, salads, and coffee. It started in London, England, in 1983. Most people just call it Pret.
As of January 2025, Pret had more than 700 shops. These shops are located in 19 different countries and regions around the world. This includes 474 shops in the UK (with 369 of them in London) and 67 in the United States. You can also find Pret a Manger in places like France, Canada, Dubai, Hong Kong, and many other countries.
Contents
Pret's Story
How Pret Started
Jeffrey Hyman opened the very first Pret a Manger in London on October 21, 1983. The first shop was in Hampstead, Camden, and opened in 1984. The name "Prêt à Manger" was inspired by "prêt-à-porter," which means "ready-to-wear" clothing in French.
The first company struggled and had to close after about 18 months. However, two university friends, Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe, bought the name and the brand.
Growing the Company
Beecham and Metcalfe started a new Pret a Manger in July 1986. Their first shop was on Victoria Street in London. They focused on making fresh, natural food in the shops every day. They also remained important owners of the company.
In 1995, Metcalfe and Beecham created The Pret Foundation. This charity helps people in the UK who are experiencing poverty. The foundation collects money from donation boxes in shops. It also uses electric vans to deliver unsold food to homeless shelters at the end of each day. The Pret Foundation has given over £7 million to more than 100 charities. These charities work to help with homelessness, hunger, and poverty.
Pret Goes Global
Pret opened its first shop outside London in New York City in 2000. By 2016, there were 74 Pret shops across the United States. In 2001, McDonald's bought a part of the company, but they sold it in 2008.
In 2008, The Pret Foundation started its "Rising Stars" program. This program helps people who are at risk of homelessness, including former prisoners and refugees. It offers them jobs in Pret shops, training, free travel, and support. By 2022, over 600 people had joined "Rising Stars." Many of them have become shop managers or work at Pret's main office in London. A small part of the money from some of Pret's special menu items goes to The Pret Foundation.
Pret a Manger opened its first shop in France in 2012. By 2022, it had 51 shops there.
New Ideas and Challenges
In June 2016, Pret a Manger tried something new. After asking customers online, they opened a special shop in London called Veggie Pret. This shop only sold vegetarian and vegan food. It was meant to be a short experiment, but it became so popular that they made it a permanent shop.
In 2016, Pret's total sales were £776 million. In April 2017, they opened a second Veggie Pret. In September 2018, a company called JAB Holding Company bought Pret a Manger. In May 2019, Pret bought another food chain called Eat. They planned to turn many of Eat's shops into Veggie Pret locations.
In August 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Pret had to make some difficult decisions. They announced that they would cut 2,890 jobs in the UK. This was because fewer people were visiting their shops.
In April 2022, Pret announced plans to open 20 shops in Ireland. In April 2023, Pret a Manger opened its first shop in India. In May 2023, the first shop in Italy opened at Milano Malpensa Airport. In August 2023, Pret a Manger faced a safety issue and was fined.
In February 2024, Pret decided to change its Veggie Pret shops back into regular Pret shops. Later that month, Pret lowered the prices of some of its most popular sandwiches. They explained that prices had gone up because of higher energy and labor costs. In 2024, Pret also made big changes to its "Club Pret" subscription service. This service, which started in 2021, now offers different benefits to customers.
In September 2024, Pret began selling its coffee at A&W restaurants in Canada. This came after a successful trial run in Toronto and Vancouver. In June 2025, the owners of Pret announced they were looking into selling the company or offering its shares on the stock market.
How Pret Works
Working at Pret
Pret a Manger hires about 1 in every 14 people who apply for a job. People who apply spend a day working in a shop. The other staff members then vote on whether the applicant should be hired. Many managers and senior leaders at Pret started by working in the shops.
Pret's structure is divided between its shops and its main offices. The London office manages the UK shops, and the New York City office manages the American shops. Each shop has different job levels, from team member to general manager. Above the shop managers are operations managers, who look after about 10 shops. Higher up are senior managers who coordinate regions and talk with the company's CEO in London. All office employees work in a shop for at least two days a year.
Pret encourages its employees to follow certain "Pret Behaviours." These behaviors focus on things like passion, clear communication, and teamwork. The company expects employees to show more of these behaviors as they move up in their jobs.
Pret Locations
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Pret uses natural ingredients and says its sandwiches are made fresh each day in a kitchen at every shop. Any food that isn't sold by the end of the day is given to charities. Sandwiches are packaged in paperboard, not plastic. London is Pret's biggest market, with 42% of its shops located there.
As of April 2024, there are 697 Pret locations around the world:
- United Kingdom: 498 (479 in England, including 291 in London; 17 in Scotland; 2 in Wales; and 1 in Northern Ireland)
- United States (as of February 2025): 68 (60 on the East Coast; 4 in Chicago; and 2 in Los Angeles)
- France: 48
- Switzerland: 11
- Canada: 5
- Hong Kong: 25
- India: 11
- Ireland: 6
- United Arab Emirates: 7
- Belgium: 1
- Germany: 11
- Kuwait: 6
- Italy: 2
- Luxembourg: 1
- Singapore: 1
- Greece: 5
- Portugal: 1
- South Africa: 2
See also
In Spanish: Pret a Manger para niños
