Pret A Manger trials fine dining in a bid to boost evening trade April 8, 2015 PRET A Manger has delighted its devoted customer base by trialling a sit-down service in the evening at one of its London branches. The ubiquitous British sandwich and coffee chain started its trail run at its Strand branch two weeks ago after six months of preparation. The group is looking for ways to maximise revenues [...]
Pret A Manger for dinner? Lunch hotspot tries out evening dining menu in Strand April 8, 2015 The saviour of stomachs across the city come lunchtime is branching out with a Pret A Manger "after dark" concept. Never again need you eat anywhere other than Pret – the chain has begun serving up all the major meals in the form of breakfast, lunch and – now – dinner, with a new evening [...]
Winter sun put on ice for holidaymakers as December is named as the month with the longest flight delays December 20, 2015 Those hoping for a little bit of winter sunshine might find themselves basking in the glow of the airport's Pret a Manger for longer than they'd bargained for, as research out today has found that December is the worst month for long flight delays. A study by Which? discovered that 3.5m passenger flights were delayed by [...]
Private equity house KKR to buy scientific testing specialists LGC from London investment firm Bridgepoint December 8, 2015 American private equity firm KKR has agreed to buy life sciences firm LGC from London-based investment group Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum. LGC said under KKR’s ownership it plans to “continue the rapid development of the business” with a particular focus on the US and Asia. The company specialises in scientific testing, including DNA testing [...]
Would you make an evening meal of it at Starbucks or Pret? No? Then how about Greggs or Subway? December 1, 2015 Starbucks and Pret a Manger have started trialling late-night opening hours, offering their customers evening menus and even serving wine and beer. YouGov assessed the attitudes and opinions of more than 60,000 consumers to evaluate whether high street coffee outlets are really an attractive venue for dinner and drinks. The blunt answer is “not yet”. Almost [...]
Biffa in secret sell off talks: Waste management firm to go on sale for £1bn? November 23, 2015 Waste management firm Biffa is has been courting prospective buyers, giving itself a price tag of £1bn, Sky News has reported. The company is this morning set to report its half-year earnings, reportedly up by 19 per cent to £67.2m, with full-year profit expectations revised upward to £119m. Biffa is rumoured to have asked any [...]
Starbucks, Costa, KFC and Caffe Nero top list of worst offenders as research finds up to 25 teaspoons of sugar in hot drinks from coffee outlets February 17, 2016 Start your day with a coffee from one of the major chains? You could be drinking up to 25 teaspoons of sugar in one drink, according to new research. Campaign group Action on Sugar has studied hot drinks made by big name outlets including Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Nero and found that single drinks can [...]
Morrisons supermarket takes a bite out of £3bn sandwich market November 2, 2015 Morrisons is going head-to-head high street chains such as Pret a Manger and EAT by launching its own range freshly made sandwiches, as the embattled chain looks to revive sales at its stores. Britain’s food-to-go market is expanding rapidly along with changing consumer habits and is now worth around £6bn, with the sandwich market worth around [...]
London sushi chain Itsu drives sales up with growing customer numbers October 6, 2015 Food conscious Britons seeking out healthier lunch options helped to drive up sales at Itsu by more than a fifth last year. The sushi specialist, launched by Pret a Manger founder Julian Metcalfe, posted a 20.8 per cent rise in turnover to £67.9m in the year to January, with like-for-like sales up by 6.8 [...]
Itsu gobbles up more customers as profits jumps September 29, 2015 FOOD conscious Britons seeking out healthier lunch options helped to drive up sales at Itsu by more than a fifth last year. The sushi specialist, launched by Pret a Manger founder Julian Metcalfe, posted a 20.8 per cent rise in turnover to £67.9m in the year to January, with like-for-like sales up by 6.8 per [...]