Pret A Manger’s sales have jumped above £1bn for the first time after benefiting from a significant expansion in the US.
The coffee and sandwich chain unveiled a 22pc surge in global turnover in 2023, which rose from £900m to £1.1bn.
This increase is largely owing to Pret’s strategy to open a raft of new stores overseas, including on the east coast of America, as well as in Greece, India and Spain.
As part of its latest results announcement, Pret has claimed that £1 in every £4 spent by its customers now comes from outside the UK.
Bosses said that New York, where it runs dozens of stores, is its most lucrative foreign outpost, with sales there second only to London.
Pret is targeting more than 10 new openings on the east coast by 2026.
Meanwhile, in the UK, it remains focused on its strategy of opening new suburban stores.
Its latest figures reveal that 90pc of all new UK openings since January 2023 were outside London.
Over this period, revenues across its UK operations rose 10pc in the first half of 2024 to £569m, up from £518m in the same period last year.
However, its expansion overseas also encountered teething issues in Israel, where it recently called off plans to open 40 franchise stores owing to “significant ongoing travel restrictions”.
Bosses said this meant “our teams have not been able to conduct the checks and training needed to set up Pret in a new market”.
It came after Pret was targeted by pro-Palestine protesters over its decision to open in Israel.