Pret hopes pay rise 'goes some way' during cost of living crisis
As the company raised wages for a third time in a year, Pret UK's interim managing director Guy Meakin said:
We're proud to be making another significant investment in our people's success and wellbeing.
Whether it's paying above the National Minimum Wage, providing career development opportunities, or leading the industry on barista pay, we're committed to making Pret a rewarding and supportive place to work for all our teams and paying the best we can afford to.
Our people work incredibly hard to make Pret such a well-loved place on the high street, and we wanted to thank them for their continued energy and commitment.
As the cost of living continues to rise, we hope this latest increase in pay, and our expanded benefits package, goes some way in providing further support for our hardworking teams.
Good morning
Pret A Manger staff will enjoy their third pay rise in less than a year as the sandwich chain is forced to keep pace with the rising minimum wage.
Workers who are classed as "team members" will see their pay rise to between £10.60 and £11.90 per hour next month, depending on their location and experience.
The minimum amount companies are allowed to pay people over 23 is set to increase to £10.42 on the same day as Pret's changes come into place.
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What happened overnight
A rally in Asian shares spluttered after they were pressured by a pullback in Chinese stocks and higher US yields.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan lost 0.4pc, unwinding some of the 2.1pc gain in the previous session - the index's best day in two months.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.8pc, after registering its biggest daily gain in nearly three months on Wednesday when it jumped 4.2pc on the back of unexpectedly robust readings from China PMI surveys.
Japan's stocks closed lower, echoing falls in Hong Kong shares and Wall Street, as investors continue to worry about US inflation and rate rises.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.1pc to 27,498.87, while the broader Topix index lost 0.2pc to 1,994.57.
Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance yesterday, after new economic data and comments from policymakers prompted investors to heighten expectations of tighter US monetary policy for a prolonged period.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average nudged 0.1pc higher to 32,661.84. The S&P 500 closed 0.5pc lower at 3,951.39, while the tech-rich Nasdaq composite dropped 0.7pc to 11,379.48.
The 10-year Treasury yield, the benchmark for global borrowing costs, pierced 4pc for the first time since November.
Meanwhile, the yield on two-year Treasury notes, which closely tracks short-term interest rate expectations, climbed to 4.9pc, its highest level since 2007.