Pret a Manger staff to get £1,000 bonus after takeover

All 12,000 staff employed by sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger will receive a £1,000 bonus once the sale of the firm is completed.

The company is to be sold by its private equity owners Bridgepoint to Luxembourg-based JAB Holdings.

The two firms did not say how much JAB was paying, although one report put the value of the deal at £1.5bn.

Pret a Manger opened its first store in London in 1986 and Bridgepoint bought the chain in 2008 for about £350m.

As well as its strong presence on the UK High Street the chain has expanded into the US, Hong Kong, China and France.

Pret operates 530 stores worldwide, generating group revenues of £879m. Its sale is expected to be completed this summer.

Pret a Manger chief executive Clive Schlee, said: "The £1,000 bonus will be paid to all employees who are on the payroll during the week the deal completes. It's serendipity for those who have just joined."

William Jackson, chairman of Pret and managing partner of Bridgepoint, said: "We're proud of what we've achieved over the last 10 years with Pret and its management team."

JAB is the investment vehicle of Germany's wealthy Reimann family.

The company has built up the world's second-largest coffee business during the past five years. It controls packaged brands such as Kenco and Douwe Egberts, as well as chains Peet's and Espresso House.

It is also the largest shareholder in beauty firm Coty and owns a controlling stake in luxury goods company Bally.

Last year, it was reported that Philippine fast food chain Jollibee was about to make a bid for Pret, but no offer emerged.