Pret a Manger sales have hit £1bn for first time as international business thrives

Pret reported global sales of £1.1bn for the 2023 full financial year, up 22% compared with the previous year and exceeding £1bn for the first time.

Same-store sales in 2023 also jumped 15% as the coffee giant hit a record number of new openings and reached its target to double the size of the business within five years, first set in 2021, ahead of schedule.

With an eye to current performance and for the six-month period to June 30, 2024, sales were up 10% year on year across Pret’s company-owned and franchise stores reaching £569m.

Pret’s same-store sales were also up 3% during the period, which it credited to its ongoing international expansion and new franchise partners.

Pret also hailed the success of its international growth with £1 in every £4 now being spent by Pret customers outside of the UK.

It added that New York has become “the overseas capital” for Pret customers outside of the UK with the American city marking the coffee chain’s highest sales after London.

Alongside an update on trading, Pret announced today that its shareholders have raised £250m of new capital to “reduce certain banking facilities and improve liquidity”.

Pret said the move comes as part of its bid to prioritise customers while “reducing debt built up during the pandemic”.

Pret chief executive Pano Christou said: “I am so proud of the progress we have made over the last three years. We set ourselves some tough targets to get Pret going again after the pandemic and we have delivered.

“Our teams have worked incredibly hard to make this happen, and I also want to take this opportunity to thank our customers for coming to see us and enjoying our freshly prepared food. Ever since I started at Pret more than two decades ago, the foundation for all our success has been about doing what’s best for the customer, and we are only as good as the service we give to our customers every day.

“The fact that £1 in every £4 is now spent outside the UK is both an achievement and an opportunity for our business. It shows how big the appetite is from customers all over the world for Pret’s menu and our unique range of ingredients and recipes.

“We’ve been cooking up new recipes to match this appetite and we now have over 300 unique recipes freshly made each day, ranging from our ham and grevé baguette in the UK to our Sriracha chicken wrap in Delhi.

“Looking to the future, our recipe for success is to focus on doing what Pret does best: creating delicious, freshly made food for our customers, only using the high-quality ingredients that we’re proud to have in our kitchens.

“One of the big signs we’re doing something right is that new products and new food innovations, such as our bespoke soya and coconut satay and shawarma sauces, are making a bigger contribution to our sales than last year. Our autumn menu was the biggest launch for many years, with 20 new products coming on to our menu, including the return of customer favourites such as the Mediterranean-style tuna flatbread.

“We also want to make our shops and the whole Pret experience as special as they can be for our customers and their families, building on the success of our first-ever Children’s menu, Little Pret Stars, earlier this year.

“I want to thank all our team members for everything they do to help bring the joy of Pret to our customers, and look forward to taking Pret to even more people, in more places, next year.”

This follows the axing of Pret’s coffee subscription for loyal customers earlier this year as the business set out to “rethink how it works”.