Pret A Manger hit with winding up petition by water company

Sandwich stalwart Pret A Manger has been hit with a winding up petition by a business water supplier over unpaid debts.

According to the High Court filing system, Pret A Manger (Europe), a subsidiary of Pret Intermediate Company, has been named in a winding up petition by Castle Water, an independent business water supplier.

A winding-up petition is defined as a serious statement of intent by a creditor which can lead to a company to be shut down due to unpaid debts through compulsory liquidation.

The case was filed by the water company’s lawyers at Addleshaw Goddard on Thursday, with the Official Receiver noted as a third party.

Morning Wire understands that this is in regard to uncontested debt. Morning Wire also understands that the bill is less than £1,500.

An official receiver is a government-appointed insolvency practitioner who manages the financial affairs of bankrupt people and companies in liquidation.

Pret Intermediate Company, the owner of Pret A Manger (Europe), reported operating profit of £26.1m in 2023, and system sales of £1.094bn.

However, in the latest set of accounts filed with Companies House, Pret a Manger (Europe) posted an operating loss of £3.7m.

The loss came after the business had reported a pre-tax profit of more than £54m in the prior 12 months.

Its accounts for its most recent financial year are not due to be published until September 2025.

In a going concern assessment, its report stated that the company “will require additional funds, through funding from its parent company… to meet its liabilities”.

An auditors’ report on the accounts said there were “no material uncertainties that could have cast doubt over [Pret’s] ability to continue as a going concern for at least a year from the date of approval of the financial statements”.

“The risk that we considered most likely to adversely affect the company’s available financial resources and/or metrics relevant to debt covenants over this period was an inability to achieve the revenue growth targets in the group’s business plan as a results of a reduction in customer’s level of income,” the auditors’ report added.

Morning Wire has reached out to Pret A Manger (Europe), Addleshaw Goddard, Castle Water and the Government insolvency service for comment.