McDonald's takes a bite out of the ethical baguette with stake in Prêt

THE BIG Mac yesterday took a large bite out of the ethical baguette as McDonald's bought a stake in the up-market Prêt A Manger chain of sandwich shops amid claims of a sell-out to big business.

The British-owned sandwich group, which has expanded dramatically since opening in 1986 as a purveyor of "good and natural" lunchtime produce, has sold a 33 per cent share to the American burger giant.

The deal, which had long been rumoured in the food industry, was explained by Prêt bosses as the means of allowing the company to expand abroad beyond the100 stores it now operates in Britain.

But the corporate coup, designed to transform the firm into a global player in a sandwich industry worth pounds 2.7bn a year in Britain alone, raised questions about its impact on the Prêt name.

From crayfish and roquette sandwiches to fruit smoothies, the chain whose motto is "passionate about food" has thrived by offering haute cuisine to the millions of stressed Britons who eat lunch at their desk.

It boasts a "caring and sharing" philosophy ranging from the use of organic milk in its cappuccinos to giving away unused food to the homeless.

McDonald's, a target of anti-capitalism activists and the champion of mass-produced fast food for 50 years, would not have seemed a natural alliance for the seller of "posh nosh".

But Andrew Rolfe, the South African Harvard Business School graduate who became Pret's chief executive in 1998, insisted that the link-up was strategic and Britain's sandwiches would be untouched.

He said: "McDonald's has bought a minority stake in Prêt - we retain absolute control of both the management of the company and the things that have made us a success.

"The reason we have done a deal is because we want to grow internationally. McDonald's operates in 120 countries - it has unparalleled expertise in expanding ... abroad."

McDonald's, which recently bought the British-owned Aroma coffee shop chain as part of a strategy to trade up from burgers, called its investment a "win-win" move. It is thought to have paid between pounds 30m and pounds 50m for its share in Prêt, founded by two graduates from the Polytechnic of Central London who were unhappy with the standard of London's sandwiches. The chain opened its first store outside Britain in New York last summer and has plans to open a further 10 in Manhattan this year. It is also considering branches in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

But campaigners claimed the marriage of Pret's Thai chicken wraps with McNuggets was a blow to customer choice and the values of the larger corporation would be imposed on its smaller partner.

A spokeswoman for Oxford-based group Corporate Watch said: "This is about the concentration of ownership. Fewer and fewer companies are owning more and more. It must be inevitable that the management practices and employment policies of McDonald's will be passed down to a smaller company like Prêt A Manger. Nobody wins from this deal."

Dave Morris, one of the McLibel Two who were sued by McDonald's for claiming that it damaged the environment, said: "I fear this is yet another victory for the unending search for profit." It was a charge denied by Prêt, which was careful to point out that it was approached by McDonald's rather than the other way round.

Publicity material for the British company, which last year sold 25 million sandwiches, laboured the point that all its food is "handmade" in each shop without a central factory. A fact file added that all its chicken comes from free-range birds raised in Spain and no GM ingredients are used. Service is also apparently at the heart of the Prêt culture with staff encouraged to make eye-contact with each customer and play Twister before opening time to limber up for the day's trade.

Little surprise, therefore, that the mood last night at the company's headquarters in London's Victoria, close to the site of the original Prêt store opened 14 years ago, was unremittingly enthusiastic.

Co-founder Julian Metcalfe, 41, said: "McDonald's has invested in us because they like what they see. Our style of food, our people and culture will remain steadfastly at the heart of what we do."

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