Coffee shop ‘Pret a Manger’ has written down it’s value by a third this week, blaming the unstable UK economy and money-conscious shoppers for the loss.
The British coffee shop chain announced a £525M loss, which comes to a third of the company’s valuation of £1.5bn. This valuation was dictated by parent company JAB holdings, upon their purchase of Pret in 2018. In June 2025, the JAB holdings company announced they had engaged advisors to explore a potential sale option.
Pret bosses have claimed the write down does not reflect on the business’ performance and retaliated that the company’s sales were up 10% last year.
Pano Christou, Pret’s chief executive, acknowledged that customers were “much more price-conscious than ever”. He also shared concerns about the ‘intense strains’ the hospitality industry is under due to hiking National Insurance costs, revealing the raid cost Pret £15 million.
“Going forward our priority will be to drive transactions and sustainable growth by offering great value for money for Pret customers.”
Last week, the coffee shop launched ‘meal deals’, offering a sandwich or salad, snack item and drink for £6. Whilst customers would be saving nearly £3 compared to the price of buying the items separately, it may not be enough to entice the economical customer back from competing chains. The current cheapest option for a meal deals outside of London is at the supermarket Morrison’s, who offer the sandwich, side, and drink option for just £3.50 with a My Morrisons membership. Nearly 7 million meal deals are sold across the UK daily.
From the 16th September Pret is trialling a number of different meal deal formats, varying by product, time of day and price point. The Meal Deals are being tested across 70 shops for roughly 8 weeks
Pret a Manger has previously attempted to appeal to a more frugal customer base, having implemented a subscription-based service in 2021. Initially, for £30 a month, ‘Club Pret’ members could get a maximum of 5 hot drinks a day and an additional 20% off food, although the service was reduced for 50% off drinks, five times a day for £5 a month in 2024.
Near the Pret a Manger at Media City, customers had split opinions. One man said the value was “not really fair”. He said “When you get your lunch you want something quite cheap and quite quick. I remember the days when it was £3 in Tesco, so it’s just going up more and more.”
Another said “The price of meal deals have almost doubled so it’s not for me. If a hot coffee would be included in the meal deal it might be a bit more worth it.” Although he added “I love Pret, so I guess you get what you pay for.”
Some people thought the price was fair but said they “Think there should be a hot drink included.”