When Julian Metcalfe helped launch the sandwich and coffee-chain Pret A Manger in 1986, interest rates were in the double digits and staffing was difficult, in part because full freedom of movement within the European Union was still a few years away. These days, the UK is out of the EU, the interest rate is 5%—though the Bank of England is expected to raise it.

“Everyone’s complaining about 5% and it’s the end of the world,” Metcalfe says. “Back then I remember we paid 14%.”

In this week’s In the City, Metcalfe tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that the restaurant business is “incredibly difficult,” but that when you’re determined, you can make it happen. He says his current mission is to make Itsu, a fast-food chain he founded in 1997, a destination for speedy, healthy meals at low prices. 

When Julian Metcalfe helped launch the sandwich and coffee-chain Pret A Manger in 1986, interest rates were in the double digits and staffing was difficult, in part because full freedom of movement within the European Union was still a few years away. These days, the UK is out of the EU, the interest rate is 5%—though the Bank of England is expected to raise it.
“Everyone’s complaining about 5% and it’s the end of the world,” Metcalfe says. “Back then I remember we paid 14%.” In this week’s In the City, Metcalfe tells hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that the restaurant business is “incredibly difficult,” but that when you’re determined, you can make it happen. He says his current mission is to make Itsu, a fast-food chain he founded in 1997, a destination for speedy, healthy meals at low prices.

Get ahead of the trends and conversations that are shaping the City of London. Join Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Dave Merritt every Thursday as they uncover the best stories and speak to the people in the know. 

Get ahead of the trends and conversations that are shaping the City of London. Join Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and Dave Merritt every Thursday as they uncover the best stories and speak to the people in the know.

Every week, Francine Lacqua and David Merritt go behind the scenes in the City of London, uncovering stories and speaking to the people that matter.

In the City

Get ahead of the trends and conversations that are shaping the City of London. Join Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and David Merritt every Thursday as they uncover the best stories and speak to the people in the know. 

Get ahead of the trends and conversations that are shaping the City of London. Join Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua, Allegra Stratton and David Merritt every Thursday as they uncover the best stories and speak to the people in the know.

In The City

Itsu Boss Says High UK Interest Rates Are Not ‘End of the World'

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/489e83d9-3fd8-471b-b5b3-b05200ab40db/transcript

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