War of the meal deals! Pret a Manger set to launch its own lunchtime offer as it takes on the supermarkets – weeks after Tesco hiked its own to £4.25

Pret a Manger is set to roll out meal deal offers as it competes with major supermarkets like Tesco – which just hiked theirs to £4.25.

The popular sandwich and coffee chain has said it will test the meal deal format in the final three months of this year amid efforts to ‘double down’ on delivering strong value for customers. 

It will start trials from next week, which will include deals for customers to buy a croissant and a drink, as well as a deal for a sandwich, drink and crisps.

Pret said it will test the deals at different prices to see how consumers react.

Boss Pano Christou said Pret’s priority will be ‘offering great value for money’ as part of its medium-term strategy to grow the brand and return to sustainable profits. 

Major supermarkets, such as Tesco, have offered meal deals including sandwiches, snacks and drinks, for many years. 

Tesco recently increased the price of its meal deal from £4 to £4.25 for non cub card holders.

While the price of a main, snack and drink has gone up from £3.60 to £3.85 for those with the membership.

Pret a Manger is set to roll out meal deal offers as it competes with major supermarkets like Tesco – which just hiked theirs to £4.25

The lunchtime offer had cost £3 for ten years before prices were hiked in October 2022.

It comes as the chain admitted it’s facing a huge pre-tax loss of £525.2 million in the year to January 2, after being hammered by £552.9 million write-down during the year. It compared with a £61.7 million loss a year earlier.

The heavy loss last year was put down to non-cash impairments linked to a reassessment of the company by owner JAB, which bought the chain in 2018. 

A year ago it scrapped its £30 subscription in favour of a £5 a month half-price ‘club’.

Under the old deal, Club Pret membership offered up to five barista-made drinks daily for a monthly fee of £25, rising to £30. 

Pret had previously told customers that their subscription would increase to £10 a month from March 31, when a 50 per cent off deal ended.

It followed Pret overhauling its £360-a-year subscription in July last year in favour of 50 per cent off up to five coffees a day for £10 a month.

Under the old deal, Club Pret membership offered up to five barista-made drinks daily for a monthly fee of £25, rising to £30 

The company said earnings before adjustments were up 36 per cent to £98 million for the year.

Meanwhile, Pret saw total revenues slide by 4.2 per cent to £868.4 million for the year, compared with a year earlier.

It said like-for-like sales grew by 2.8 per cent as the business continued its international expansion, growing its store estate by 11 per cent to 717 shops.

Mr Christou, chief executive of Pret A Manger, said he believes the business can expand from 500 UK sites to between 1,000 and 1,500, with plans to grow its presence in roadside locations.

The boss said: ‘2024 was another year of growth for Pret, where we took disciplined decisions to protect sales, despite intense strains on the hospitality industry.

‘Going forward our priority will be to drive transactions and sustainable growth by offering great value for money for Pret customers.

‘Our focus will be on growing Pret’s market share in the UK and internationally, prioritising city centres and travel hubs, backed by the experience and expertise of additional world-class board members and a strengthened management team.’