Pret a Manger brings back co-founder to get a handle on coffee chain's nearly ... trends now
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Pret a Manager has brought back its co-founder in a bid to get a handle on its £700million debt pile that surged during Covid.
Sinclair Beecham has returned to the coffee chain as new chairman Konrad Meyer vowed to get a handle on its finances as he announced they were 'implementing plans' to reduce debt.
Pret racked up a total £698million worth of loans and borrowings by the end of 2022, a £176million jump compared to in 2019, according to its latest accounts filed to Companies House.
The company was devastated by the pandemic as city centres ground to a halt and its clientele of tourists and office workers disappeared.
Pret announced a boardroom shakeup yesterday with Meyer appointed chairman to succeed Olivier Goudet after six years.
Pret racked up a total £698million worth of loans and borrowings by the end of 2022, a £176million jump compared to in 2019, according to its accounts filed to Companies House
Pret a Manager has brought back its co-founder Simon Beecham in a bid to get a handle on its £700million debt pile that surged during Covid
Beecham, who co-founded the chain alongside Julian Metcalfe in 1986, and former chairman from 2003 to 2011 Larry Billett have also returned.
In 2018, Metcalfe sold his remaining stake in the business when German investment firm JAB Holding bought the company for £1.53billion.
Metcalfe set up Pret A Manger at the age of 27 when he and a university friend Beecham fitted out the first store in Victoria Street, central London.
In a statement, Meyer said: 'As a final step in leaving the pandemic behind, we are implementing plans to reduce debt.
'With Larry's return to the Board, and Sinclair's
