McDonald's Invests in Health Food

OAK BROOK, Ill.--The power that introduced Egg McMuffins and Happy Meals to the food culture is now investing in cappuccinos and veggie sandwiches that are gluten- and GM-free. McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCJ) announced Jan. 31 that it acquired a minority interest in 15-year-old Pret A Manger, a United Kingdom-based fast food restaurant that provides fresh food with natural, preservative-free ingredients.

According to the companies, this investment will help Pret A Manger become more global while helping McDonald's capture another segment of the fast food market. According to Pret A Manger, it will be advantageous to have McDonald's expertise and worldwide infrastructure, including their adept capabilities in real estate, construction, distribution and business systems. Presently, the natural food shop operates more than 100 outlets throughout the U.K., and just opened a shop in New York. Plans are in the works for opening more locations in Manhattan as well as introducing the chain into Asia. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

McDonald's is the perfect partner for implementing these plans, since it has more than 28,000 restaurants in 120 countries. "It provides McDonald's with another opportunity to advance our long-term strategy to seek a greater share of the informal eating-out market by capturing meal occasions that don't make sense for McDonald's to offer," said Claire Babrowski, executive vice president of McDonald's Corp.

The founders and existing shareholders--Julian Metcalfe, Sinclair Beecham, Andrew Rolfe and Harvey Smyth--will retain majority ownership and management control of Pret A Manger.

"McDonald's has invested in us because they like what they see and what they eat," said Metcalfe. "They want us to stay just the way we are. Our style of food, our people and culture will remain steadfastly at the heart of what we do."

According to England's BBC newswire, McDonald's has staked a 33-percent share in Pret A Manger. This isn't the first British relationship for McDonald's: it also owns 41 Aroma Cafes throughout the U.K. For additional information, visit www.mcdonalds.com or www.pret.com.