Waitrose In Negotiation To Acquire EAT Sandwich Bars
Up-market grocery retailer Waitrose is considering a potential acquisition of the coffee and sandwich bar EAT, and has entered into discussions with the company according to a report in the Sunday Times.
The retailer wants to open EAT branches in Waitrose stores, and is also planning to sell Waitrose food at EAT branches.
The discussion follows closely after Waitrose announced impressive full year results which saw sales leap by over 15 per cent.
Over the last few years, Waitrose has been developing a food strategy introducing innovations such as the Essentials range which has enjoyed great success.
Essentials has generated £500 million is sales since its introduction over a year ago, with sales expected to reach £750 million during the next 12 months.
Waitrose has also invested heavily in television advertising, recruiting celebrity chefs such as Heston Blumenthal and Delia Smith as ‘food ambassadors’.
Waitrose recently reached an agreement with pharmacy chain Boots, the terms of which will see Waitrose food items being sold at over 700 Boots outlets. A similar arrangement is also being negotiated with energy major Shell.
An acquisition of EAT by the retailer would see its products made available at over 100 EAT branches, the majority of which are in London.
The EAT chain was set up by Niall and Faith MacArthur in 1996, and is now co-owned by Penta capital, with the founders still owning a 45% shareholding.
Please Note - All Prices Quoted Are Correct at Time of Posting
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