Pret A Manger dumps US franchise agreement after just two years Retail Pret A Manger has dumped the franchise agreement which it had launched to expand in the US after just two years, its latest accounts revealed. The coffee chain formed a joint venture, known as Empire JointStar, with its franchise operator Dallas Holdings in October 2023, in a bid to accelerate its expansion in the US. [...]
More than a café. More than a bank. Partner Santander Work Café. More than a café. More than a bank. Whilst still offering access to the banking services customers rely on, Work Cafés also offer bright and welcoming co-working spaces, free bookable meeting rooms and great coffee! We spoke with Nathan Hill, National Work Café Manager and Jacqueline Daley, Work Café Manager – Cheapside, to [...]
Matcha mayhem: Blank Street eyes $100m expansion Retail Blank Street coffee is reportedly in early talks to raise at least $100m in new funding as it eyes further expansion. The cafe chain, which has more than 50 shops in the UK, is known for its matcha drinks and has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2020. The business operates dozens of locations [...]
Sally Clarke’s Notting Hill bakery put up for sale after suffering losses January 16, 2026 A bakery business owned by seasoned restaurateur Sally Clarke has been put up for sale on an insolvency marketplace after suffering losses, CityAM can reveal. The Notting Hill Bakery, which employs dozens of staff and makes nearly £6m per year selling artisan breads, cakes and cookies, is seeking buyers for all or part of [...]
Loungers creates 900 jobs as major expansion plans continue January 12, 2026 Cafe-bar and restaurant chain Loungers created more than 900 jobs in the year it quit the London Stock Exchange’s AIM, it has been revealed. The Bristol-headquartered business delisted in February last year after being acquired by Fortress Investment Group for £338m. The Cosy Club and Brightside owner was founded in 2002 by Alex Reilley, David Reid [...]
Pret A Manger ‘being punished for focusing on UK’ September 15, 2025 Pret A Manger is being punished for focusing on the UK and this is a “disaster for domestic growth”, according to the chief executive of drinking chocolate chain Knoops. Writing on LinkedIn, William Gordon-Harris said “the sad fact is for UK domestic growth is that so many UK founded businesses focus their growth after launch [...]
Danish bakery Ole & Steen brews up success with buns on demand June 18, 2025 International bakery Ole & Steen has reported a double-digit uplift in sales, boosted by online deliveries to business and consumers. Turnover grew five per cent last year after a strategy revamp, with revenue increasing to £36m from £34m in 2023. UK managing director Graham Hollinshead said the company has “firmly re-established [its] position as London’s [...]
Will Pret a Manger’s IPO be a tasty treat for the City? June 12, 2025 There are few better ways to start the morning than with a bacon sandwich. Outside CityAM‘s offices on Cheapside, a coterie of cafes and sandwich shops open at 6am to sate City workers’ cravings for the greasy, umami-rich bap. There is often a line stretching out the door at Greggs, which charges £3 for [...]
Morrisons to cut hundreds of jobs and close cafes in huge shake-up March 24, 2025 Supermarket giant Morrisons has put 365 jobs at risk after it revealed plans to close more than 50 of its cafes. The Yorkshire-headquartered chain said 52 of its cafes, 17 convenience stores and dozens of meat and fish counters at its shops are slated for closure. Morrisons said the closures are part of a “wide-ranging” [...]
A sandwich revolution and Canada February 26, 2025 The humble sandwich is having a revolution in London, but Carys Sharkey takes a tour of the City to see if bigger is always better In the City, queues spill out of sandwich shop doors as the rigmarole of work is punctured by bread and spread. But the sandwich is no longer a humble thing. [...]