London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

UK sandwich chain Pret A Manger to launch in India

UK sandwich chain Pret A Manger to launch in India

UK-based coffee and sandwich chain Pret A Manger has become the latest high-profile Western brand to launch in the Indian market.

The firm opened its first shop in India's financial hub Mumbai on Friday.

It comes in the same week that US technology giant Apple launched its first two stores in the country.

Pret said last year that it was partnering with a unit of Reliance Industries, which is owned by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Pret's chief executive Pano Christou said its offering in the country will reflect the company's brand "while also adapting to local preferences and food habits".

It marks the first venture by Reliance Brands, which also owns India's biggest retail chain, into the country's growing food and drinks industry.

Reliance said its first outlet is a recreation of Pret's UK shops.

The shops will be aimed at "the new Indian consumer", Darshan Mehta, the managing director of Reliance Brands said.

The launch came just days after Apple chief executive Tim Cook opened the iPhone maker's first retail store in India.

The opening of the store in the financial centre Mumbai on Tuesday was followed by a second outlet in the capital Delhi on Thursday.

Pret A Manger, which means "ready to eat" in French, was founded in London in 1983, with the first shop opening the following year.

After the original company went into liquidation the brand was bought by college friends Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe, with their first store opening in 1986.

The brand currently has 400 outlets around the world, across nine markets including the UK, US, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Reliance Brands operates more than 2,000 outlets across India.

In 2021, parent company Reliance Retail announced a franchise deal with the US-headquartered convenience store chain 7-Eleven.

The deal helped to cement Reliance's position as India's largest bricks and mortar retailer.

Mukesh Ambani is India's richest person


Who is Mukesh Ambani?


Mr Ambani has a personal fortune of around $84bn (£67.5bn), according to Forbes magazine.

The 65-year-old's late father Dhirubhai Ambani founded a textile manufacturer that would eventually become Reliance Industries.

It is now one of India's largest conglomerates - with businesses including petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecoms and retail.

Mr Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries. The Ambani family has a 49% stake in the company.

The family also owns assets in the UK worth tens of millions of pounds.

In 2019, a unit of Reliance Industries bought the iconic UK toy retailer Hamleys for an undisclosed sum.

Two years later, Reliance bought the historic British country club Stoke Park for £57m.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×