Sales at Pret A Manger rose above pre-pandemic levels for the first time last week, a sign that the economy has recovered from the Covid recession.
Food chain trading volumes in locations including London’s financial districts and regional towns, northern counties and Scotland were higher than in the last week of January 2020, according to Bloomberg Pret. Weekly Index.
Bloomberg, the media company, uses the sandwich chain’s trading volume from top to bottom across the country to track the health of the economy.
The recovery puts Britain far beyond New York, Philadelphia and Washington, where Pret stores are trading much lower than usual. Pret has nearly 600 stores in 11 countries.
This indicator shows that not all UK store clusters are recovering at the same rate. London’s suburbs, where working from home is common, recorded the highest sales, while the City of London and Canary Wharf in the center of the capital were slightly below 2019 levels due to banks. and other companies that allow employees to work at least part of the week from home. .
Pret was founded by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham in London in 1986. In 2018 it was acquired by JAB Holding Company, the group behind Kenco coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts, for £1.5 billion.
