Spencer Craig, founder of healthy, food-to-go concept Pure, in which Whitbread acquired a 49% stake earlier this week, has told MCA that the new partnership is a long-term project and that the business will continue to focus on “slow and steady” expansion in the capital.
The eight-strong company will open its first site in partnership with Whitbread, which has the option of acquiring the remaining stake in the business within the next five years, today at 179 Camden High Street, coincidentally next door to a Costa.
Craig told MCA: “We will continue to expand at a considered rate, with plans to open three to four sites a year, with expansion in London being our main focus for the foreseeable future.”
Craig admitted that the company had received approached from private equity over the last 18 months, but that Whitbread felt like the right fit to help take the business forward.
He said that the company would continue to target areas with dense office populations in central London for the breakfast and lunchtime markets.
Craig said this market is still a long way from saturation: “We could be in many areas without affecting our own business already.”
The group operates further sites in Soho, London Bridge, Fitzrovia, Covent Garden, Bank, Moorgate and Canary Wharf.
Whitbread invested £6.8m in acquiring a 49% stake in Pure.
Alison Brittain, chief executive of Whitbread said: “I am very impressed by Pure, which appeals to health conscious busy people, offering a choice of natural fresh food. As the UK’s largest hospitality company, it’s vital that Whitbread has its finger on the pulse of consumer trends and that we innovate with new formats and concepts. I see considerable opportunities to grow the brand and by taking a stake in Pure we fast become part of a business that specialises in the exciting growth market for natural, healthy takeaway food and drink.”
