Why Pret A Manger is giving staff a £1,000 bonus

From Prima

Staff at Pret A Manger have had a good start to the week. The sandwich shop has announced it plans to give every employee a £1,000 bonus as part of a takeover by investment group JAB Holdings.

Bridgepoint, the UK-based private equity firm, is selling Pret to the German business, which already has controlling stakes in several leading coffee brands, including Jacobs Douwe Egberts and Caribou Coffee Company, as well as Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Clive Schlee, the Pret a Manger chief executive, has announced that 12,000 of its workforce will receive the payout once the deal, which is thought to be worth around £1.5 billion, is completed.

'The £1,000 bonus will be paid to all employees who are on the payroll during the week the deal completes,' Schlee commented, the BBC reports. 'It's serendipity for those who have just joined.'

William Jackson, chairman of Pret and managing partner of Bridgepoint, added that he was 'proud' of what the high-street chain has achieved over the last decade. According to The Guardian, news of the payout was a total surprise to staff.

Pret, which has over 530 shops worldwide, first opened in London in 1986 and has become a popular spot for on-the-go lunch options in the years since. The announcement of its sale comes after recent concerns that Pret might struggle to attract staff after Brexit.

Last year, Pret's director of human resources told a parliamentary committee that just one in 50 applicants for jobs at the company are British. She said the company could struggle to staff its shops after Britain leaves the EU because of a lack of applications from Brits. Perhaps the surprise £1000 bonus will help to change that.

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