Concerns Raised Over Pret Opening After Another Graffiti Strike
Unit hit for second time with anti-Israeli messages
Grafitti on the front of the Pret store with obscenities blurred. Picture: Chris Longhurst
April 19, 2024
The unit which is expected to house the new branch of Pret a Manger in the Brentford Project has been hit for the second time by graffiti.
Anti-Israeli abuse has been sprayed on the unit which had its Pret branding removed after the first attack and replaced with plain pink hoardings.
The latest act of vandalism includes more explicit language and accusations of rape and murder with a reference to JAB Holdings, a German company which is the ultimate owner of Pret.
The café chain has been the subject of targeted action by a UK-based pro-Palestinian group called Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) following an announcement that it was planning to open 40 Pret shops in Israel over the next decade in a joint-venture with Israeli fashion chain Fox-Wizel and restaurant group Yarzin Sella. FOA has encouraged people to email Pret’s CEO asking that the deal be scrapped and express their views on stickers to give feedback on stickers provided by Pret on its sandwiches but has not advocated direct action against stores.
Concerns have been raised that a lack of activity at the site even before the first attack and some have suggested that the plans for opening may be abandoned. These reports have been dismissed by Ballymore, the developer of the Brentford Project but Pret has yet make any statement on its plans for the area. It is understood that the original intention was that the store would not be directly managed by Pret but run by a franchisee.
Richard Pearce, Senior Development Manager at Ballymore said, “Pret are in lease and are committed to Brentford. They are restructuring all of their suburban locations (not just Brentford!) to be franchise stores and as such they are going through a lengthy shortlisting process for selection shortly.
“We hope that they take access and open in the late summer.”
Ballymore recently published a leasing schedule for the Brentford Project which showed the Pret store was expected to open in June.
Removing Pret branding from unit has failed to deter attacks. Picture: Chris Longhurst
We spoke to someone involved in corporate lettings in the area about the situation and he said, “Pret’s franchise partners are not usually individuals but larger businesses which specialise in running a number of branches. Any firm thinking of taking on the branch will obviously be concerned about what is happening and there will be an impact on insurance costs but this will be spread over a big policy covering many branches so probably not material. The last thing they would want to do is create the impression that actions like this can have any impact on their decisions.”
Pret a Manger has not responded to our request for confirmation that it still plans to open a store at the site.
Meanwhile a new branch of the upmarket bakery chain Gail’s opened nearby at 2 Westbury Yard this Thursday (18 April).
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
