LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Bloomberg today reported the owners of Pret A Manger are considering an initial public offering on the United States stock market.
 
Private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers, who purchased Pret for 500 million euros in 2008, is said to be working with advisers at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Jefferies Group LLC, and other leading banks on the flotation.  A representative from Bridgepoint told Bloomberg that ‘the firm is always exploring opportunities to ensure the future growth of Pret’ and that a final decision has yet to been made regarding a listing or sale.
 
Last month, Pret reported a 4.8% increase on like-for-like sales in 2016, reaching £776.2 million in global revenue for the year.  The company currently operate 444 stores worldwide and has plans for continued global expansion over the next the next 12 months.
 
Bloomberg reports the company could seek a valuation of over £1.5 billion, and that they have also been approached by bidders including industry giant JAB Holding Co., aiming to pre-empt the floatation.
 
‘This would be a very sound decision by Pret to launch on the US stock market and will provide a lot of opportunities for the company,’ commented Jeffrey Young, MD of Allegra Group.  ‘It would signal Pret’s intent on growing a very large and formidable estate across North America (and globally), which as our research indicates, hold tremendous opportunities for the coffee, health and food-to-go markets’.
 
The US branded coffee shop chain market increased by 3.1% in outlets in 2016, and 7.4% in revenue to reach $41 billion USD, reports Allegra World Coffee Portal. The market is set to exceed 45,000 outlets and revenue of $85 billion USD by 2025*.
 
*Data quoted from Project Café2017 USA report by Allegra World Coffee Portal