Pret a Manger (/ˈprɛt ə ˈmɒ̃ʒeɪ/; French for "ready to eat") is a British multinational sandwich shop chain founded in London, England, in 1983.

[6] Pret a Manger has additional locations in Belgium, Canada, France, Dubai, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Kuwait, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Spain and Switzerland.

Both the name and visual branding were purchased from liquidator David Rubin by two university friends,[12] Sinclair Beecham and Julian Metcalfe.

They developed the chain's menu of handmade natural food, prepared in shop kitchens, and remained significant shareholders.

[16] The Pret Foundation received donations from collection boxes in shops, funding a fleet of electric vans that deliver unsold food to homeless shelters at the end of each day, including FareShare, The Felix Project and City Harvest.

[32] In April 2022, the company announced plans to enter the Irish market, opening 20 outlets and creating 500 jobs.

[34] In August 2023, Pret a Manger was fined £800,000 for a health and safety offence after an employee was trapped in a walk-in freezer for more than two hours.

Orders do not strictly flow from the head offices in a top-down manner; instead, the channel of communication between the executives and the stores is open in both directions.

[46] The company emphasises the use of natural ingredients and advertises that its sandwiches are made on the day of purchase in a kitchen at each location (with the stated exception of a few small outlets).

[70] In late 2015, a 17-year-old girl collapsed and needed emergency medical care after a "life-threatening" reaction to sesame, which was present in a Pret product despite an absence of suitable allergen labelling on the packaging.

The girl's mother, a doctor, contacted Pret a Manger and was told the allergen was not mentioned on the product, so she cautioned them that "other serious adverse incidents could easily occur".

[71] A woman almost died following a reaction to a baguette in October 2015, despite the patient's family warning Pret a Manger the firm did not label products with allergy information.

The lawyer for the family said a photograph, taken at the store eight days after the girl's death, indicated no sticker warning concerning allergens was on the packages.

[77] The supplier, CoYo, disputed the allegation[78] and maintains Pret a Manger hampered its investigations by refusing to reveal the batch number of the affected product.

[80] In August 2023 City of Westminster, London fined Pret £800,000 after a café worker was left locked in a walk-in freezer.

"The District Judge decided on a starting point of £1.6 million, which was reduced to £800,000 following credit for an early guilty plea and mitigation advanced on behalf of the company.