Pret ventures 'out of town' to open shop at The Springs Leeds

The leading coffee and sandwich chain has agreed a 10-year lease to occupy a prominent unit adjacent to Caffé Nero and opposite JD Sports in the retail and leisure centre at Thorpe Park.

The new outlet will offer a menu of fresh food and beverages for customers, all hand made in Pret’s on-site kitchen with hot drinks prepared by trained baristas.

Pret, which employs over 8,500 people in the UK and operates more than 550 stores across five countries, announced an ambitious growth strategy in 2021 with plans to open more than 200 new UK stores by 2023 and double the size of the business within five years.

This latest announcement to take space at The Springs represents one of the brand’s first ventures into an ‘out of town’ location in the UK.

Rachel Vickers, senior commercial manager at Scarborough Group International (SGI), developer and asset manager of The Springs and Thorpe Park Leeds, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pret to The Springs Leeds, expanding our offering of freshly made, high-quality food and drink on the go for more than 5,500 people that work across the Park and the communities living nearby.”

She added: “The Springs continues to perform exceptionally well as a destination, attracting robust footfall due to its location and accessibility. The new East Leeds Orbital Route has given a tremendous boost to this alongside our free car parking, and the forthcoming railway station as well as new housing development will only help to attract more strong brands for our community.”

The announcement comes just a month after expanding food and bar group, Loungers opened at The Springs. Other recent openings include Dunelm, Betty Loves Candles and Elan Laser Clinics.

The Springs has been used as a springboard for new concepts by other operators. These include the UK’s first purpose designed ODEON Luxe cinema, the joint venture between Next and Piccolo by Piccolino, a new concept store for The Range, Vitruvian dental practice and the recently opened Elan Laser Clinic as its first venture in the UK.