PRET A Manger is set to launch meal deals in a bid to take on major supermarkets, which have been offering them for years.
The high street sandwich chain’s move comes after Tesco and Sainsbury’s hiked their prices on lunchtime meal deals.
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Pret plans to trial the meal deal format in the final three months of the year.
Boss Pano Christou said the chain’s focus is on “offering great value for money” as part of its medium-term strategy to grow and return to sustainable profits.
Details on pricing and locations for the trial have yet to be revealed.
While major supermarkets have long offered meal deals – typically including a sandwich, snack and drink – Tesco recently hiked its price by 25p, blaming ongoing food inflation.
Pret’s latest accounts showed a pre-tax loss of £525.2 million for the year to January 2 – largely due to a £552.9 million write-down after a reassessment by owner JAB, which bought the chain in 2018.
This followed a £61.7 million loss the year before.
Despite the losses, Pret said its earnings before adjustments rose 36 per cent to £98 million for the year.
Meanwhile, total revenue dipped 4.2 per cent to £868.4 million compared to the previous year.
Like-for-like sales grew by 2.8 per cent, helped by an 11 per cent expansion to 717 shops as the business continued to grow internationally.
Pret said it is keen to expand further in the US, especially around city centres and travel hubs.
Christou, Pret’s CEO, said: “2024 was another year of growth for Pret, where we took disciplined decisions to protect sales, despite intense strains on the hospitality industry.
“Going forward our priority will be to drive transactions and sustainable growth by offering great value for money for Pret customers.
“Our focus will be on growing Pret’s market share in the UK and internationally, prioritising city centres and travel hubs, backed by the experience and expertise of additional world-class board members and a strengthened management team.”
Pret opened its first shop in London in 1986 and now employs 12,500 staff across over 700 locations in 21 countries.
Christou, who has been the chain’s CEO since 2019, started out as an assistant manager at a central London branch aged 22.
The minicab driver’s son, now 45, grew up in Tooting, South London – and earns over £400,000 a year.
The Luxembourg-based firm JAB Holding – which also owns Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Keurig Dr Pepper – bought Pret for £1.5 billion in 2018.
But the pandemic hit hard, with the chain posting a £343 million loss in 2020 as its key customers – office workers and commuters – stayed home.
To win them back, Pret launched cut-priced food and coffee subscription services, which helped sales jump 20 per cent in 2023.
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