The private equity owner of Pret A Manger has resisted the temptation of floating the popular London sandwich chain in Europe’s most buoyant initial public offerings market since the financial crisis, in favour of a bold attempt to break into mainland China.
Since Bridgepoint’s ￡345m leveraged buyout in 2008, Pret has successfully tested its concept of freshly baked natural food with urban working crowds of US cities, Paris and Hong Kong. The opening of a shop in Shanghai this autumn will help establish the brand’s growth prospects in a potentially huge market.
“The company has refilled its pipeline of projects,” says William Jackson, Bridgepoint Managing Partner and Pret’s chairman, eating warm porridge in the newly opened Pret store near the London’s National Gallery. “The US is maturing, France is emerging, the UK is a thriving hub of innovation and we’ve got research and development going in China. We’re planting the seeds for future growth.”