VANCOUVER, BC, June 2, 2022 /CNW/ – A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (the “Fund“) (TSX: AW.UN) and A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. (“Food Services“) announce that Food Services has signed a Country Agreement (the “Agreement“) with UK-based freshly made food and organic coffee chain Pret A Manger (Europe) Limited (“Pret“), which sets forth the general terms and conditions granting Food Services master franchisor rights to Canada (the “Country Agreement“) for Pret A Manger.
Pursuant to the Agreement, Food Services is moving forward with a two-year pilot of the Pret brand in Canada (the “Trial Phase“) during which period, Food Services will introduce the Pret brand within A&W restaurants in select markets in Canada.
The first shop to trial the Pret brand will be in Vancouver and plans to open this summer.
“We are excited to introduce Pret’s fresh and delicious menu range in a select number of A&W restaurants this year. We believe Canadian consumers will respond very positively and come to love the Pret brand and all that it represents” commented Susan Senecal, Chief Executive Officer of Food Services and the Fund.
Pano Christou, Chief Executive Officer at Pret A Manger said: “Last year, we set out our ambitions to expand into new markets and bring Pret to more people worldwide. I’m excited to confirm that Pret will be coming to customers in Canada this summer through our franchisee agreement with A&W. We know Canadians have long been calling for Pret in their community. Thanks to this new partnership, we’re finally able to bring our freshly made food and 100% organic coffee to Canada as part of a two-year trial.”
The A&W restaurant locations that will participate in the Trial Phase are expected to launch a Pret menu range and organic coffees in the second quarter of 2022, with the first location opening within an A&W in Vancouver. If the Trial Phase is successful, Food Services will have the exclusive right to expand the Pret brand across Canada based on an agreed upon development schedule.
MEDIA INFO FOR A&W
Gabrielle Poirier – gabrielle.poirier@smithcom.ca – (905) 269-1127
ABOUT THE FUND
The Fund is a limited purpose trust established to invest in Trade Marks, which through its interest in A&W Trade Marks Limited Partnership (the Partnership), owns the A&W trade-marks used in the A&W quick service restaurant business in Canada. In return for licensing Food Services to use its trade-marks, Trade Marks (through the Partnership) receives royalties equal to 3% of the gross sales reported by A&W restaurants in the Royalty Pool.
About A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.
A&W Food Services of Canada Inc. is a corporation amalgamated under the laws of Canada and is 100 per cent Canadian owned and is one of the strongest brand names in the Canadian foodservice industry. A&W is the nation’s second largest hamburger restaurant company with over 1,000 locations coast-to-coast. A&W Restaurants feature famous trade-marked menu items such as The Burger Family®, Chubby Chicken®, and A&W Root Beer®. For more information, please visit www.aw.ca.
About Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger is a sandwich and coffee chain commonly referred to as Pret and based in the United Kingdom. The first shop opened in London in 1986. Pret’s sandwiches, salads and wraps are freshly made each day in shop kitchens using quality ingredients and all coffees are 100% organic. Pret currently has more than 550 shops and operates in the UK, US, Hong Kong, France, Dubai, Switzerland, Brussels, Singapore and Germany. For more information, please visit https://www.pret.co.uk/en-GB
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws in Canada (forward-looking information). The words “anticipates”, “believes”, “budgets”, “could”, “estimates”, “expects”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “may”, “might”, “plans”, “projects”, “schedule”, “should”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions are often intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. Specific forward-looking statements include statements with respect to the expectation that: Food Services will be granted master franchisor rights to Canada, Pret products will be made available at various A&W restaurants across Canada starting in 2022, and Food Services will receive an exclusive license to use the Pret brand in Canada with further development rights.
The forward-looking information is based on assumptions that management considered reasonable at the time it was prepared. The forward-looking information is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results anticipated by the forward-looking information.
For further information: AW.UN Investor information: Kelly Blankstein, CPA(CA), CFO, email: investorrelations@aw.ca, www.awincomefund.ca