In a filing with Israeli authorities, the British sandwich chain Pret A Manger has terminated its franchising agreement with its Israeli counterpart, citing ongoing protests and unrest related to the Gaza conflict as constituting a "force majeure" event. The move effectively ends Pret's operations in Israel for the foreseeable future.
The Islamic takeover of London is going well...
Muslims wearing their Palestinian war scarves (keffiyeh) stormed a Pret a Manger restaurant in London. The jihadis threatened customers to leave immediately.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Muslim group Friends of Al-Aqsa, a… pic.twitter.com/H3FXGquNZz
— Amy Mek (@AmyMek) November 12, 2023
In the surprising development, Pret A Manger (Europe) Limited ("Pret") has informed the Israeli company Fox Wizel of its decision to cancel a licensing agreement that granted exclusive rights to establish and operate the international food and coffee chain Pret A Manger in Israel. The arrangement would have had a Fox Wizel subsidiary (80% owned by the public company and 20% owned by Yarzin-Sella Restaurants) serve as the franchisee. Fox Wizel and Pret a Manger had previously announced partnership in April 2023, as noted in the company's periodic report for 2023 published on March 24, 2024, and an immediate report on April 3, 2023.
The decision comes amid ongoing violent and antisemitic protests across the globe against Israel's self-defense against Hamas following the Oct. 7 atrocities that killed 1200 Israelis and foreigners. "The Company is honored to announce that on May 30, 2024, Pret notified its decision to cancel the License Agreement, claiming, according to Pret, the occurrence of a force majeure event resulting from the war that began on October 7, 2023, and its alleged impact on Pret's ability to perform the required preliminary actions for the opening of operations under the License Agreement," the company said in a statement on its termination of the contract.
Pret A Manger, which operates over 500 locations worldwide. However, the company cited the "force majeure" clause in its contract, which allows termination when circumstances outside of either party's control prevent fulfillment of obligations.
A Pret spokesperson issued a comment to Israel Hayom following its report:
"We have taken the difficult decision to end our current agreement with Fox Group and Yarzin Sella Group. We had tried to delay this decision for as long as possible, but the significant ongoing travel restrictions have meant that our teams have not been able to conduct the checks and training needed to set up Pret in a new market. Under the terms of Pret's travel insurance, any colleagues traveling to Israel would not be insured. We want to express our sincerest thanks to the teams at Fox Group and Yarzin Sella Group, who have been supportive and extremely collaborative partners."
