Pret A Manger back in the black as half year revenue increases 230%

Two-thirds of Pret's UK store portfolio is now outside of London's financial district, with 36% of UK outlets located in regional cities and towns | Photo credit: Pret A Manger

Reporting its results for the first six months of 2022, Pret A Manger said it achieved revenues of £357.8m ($433.8m), a 230% increase compared to the same period in 2021. 
 

The UK-based coffee and food-to-go chain, which said it returned to profitability in March 2022, cited the success of its growing its regional presence in the UK, with sales at these stores now outstripping those in London.  

The results highlight Pret’s remarkable turnaround since the pandemic, when the coffee and food-to-go chain’s sales were decimated by a loss of commuter and officer worker trade.  

Pret, which has sought to refocus its brick-and-mortar business on neighbourhoods to cater to hybrid home-and-office working, says that 66% of its UK outlet portfolio is now outside of the London's financial district, its traditional heartland, with 36% of UK shops located in regional cities and towns. 

The company has also targeted new digital and retail channels. Having filed its 2021 accounts to Companies House, Pret said that digital transactions accounted for 37% of transactions during 2021.  

The chain’s Coffee Subscription service, first launched in the UK in September 2020, has seen subscriber sales increase from more than over 667,000 per week in 2021 to over one million purchases a week in the UK in 2022.  

Pret has now launched the subscription in France and US and reports that subscribers are typically spending four times as much with Pret than non-subscribers.  

In September 2021 Pret outlined a growth target to double the size of its business within five years, as well as expanding into five new markets by the end of 2023. It has since announced agreements with franchise partners to enter Canada, Ireland, Spain and Portugal and India. 

“The opportunity now is for us to take that growth and apply it internationally. Since the start of this year, we’ve signed four new partnership agreements to take Pret into new global markets. The second half of this year will be about taking that a step further, while continuing to run our business with the fast, friendly, joyful service which has made Pret what it is today,” said Pano Christou, CEO, Pret. 

Pret A Manger operates 424 stores in the UK and 558 stores internationally. The company’s revenue for 2021 increased 17% to £461.5m ($560m). Pret’s operating loss for 2021 was £225.9m ($273.7), down from £343m ($415.5) in 2020.