High street sandwich chain Pret A Manger has agreed to buy its smaller rival Eat, and will turn most, if not all of its newly acquired sites into Veggie Pret cafes. ‘The acquisition of the Eat estate is a wonderful opportunity to turbo-charge the development of Veggie Pret’ Pret CEO Clive Schlee said.
Pret said growing consumer demand for more vegetarian and vegan dining options means it will convert “as many of Eat’s shops as possible” to push its meat-free branch of the business.
The first Veggie Pret opened in 2016 and the company has been expanding the concept over the last few years. Pret CEO Clive Schlee said today: “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.
Veggie Pret
“We have been developing the Veggie Pret concept for more than 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.”
The move marks a shift for the chain overall: earlier in 2019, Pret launched an extended range of vegan and vegetarian dishes across all stores. Pret, which has more than 450 shops in the UK, will buy all 94 Eat locations, nearly three quarters of which are based in London.
Eat chief executive Andrew Walker said to i in a statement: “Eat’s passionate and talented team are what make the business; their commitment to providing our customers with great food and excellent service is at the heart of the company’s outstanding recent performance.
