International sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger agrees to buy EAT
Pret A Manger, commonly known as ‘Pret’, has recently announced that they will be buying the British food and drink retailer EAT, with plans to turn many of their outlets into Veggie Prets.
Since 2016, four Veggie Pret’s have opened in both London and Manchester, but with the demand for vegetarian and vegan food rapidly increasing, the popular food chain wants to convert the newly purchased EAT’s into vegetarian and vegan Pret branches.
Veggie Pret, Exmouth Market
The CEO of Pret, Clive Schlee commented: “The purpose of this deal is to serve a growing demand of vegetarian and vegan customers who want delicious, high quality food and drink options. We have been developing the Veggie Pret concept for over two years and we now have four hugely successful shops across London and Manchester. The acquisition of the EAT estate is a wonderful opportunity to turbo-charge the development of Veggie Pret and put significant resources behind it.”
EAT have more than 80 branches open in London alone, with other outlets scattered in cities around the country, whilst Pret A Manger has over 450 branches in over nine countries.
Chairman of EAT, Andrew Aylwin commented: “Pret is a fantastic brand and this transaction represents a strong strategic fit with benefits for all concerned. I would like to thank Andrew Walker and his team for the outstanding job they have done revitalising the brand and business in the last few years and the company’s shareholders and lenders for their support.”