UK sandwich chain Pret A Manger plans to set up shop in Hong Kong early next year as a launch pad to the Asia-Pacific region.

Pret A Manger chief executive Andrew Rolfe chose the SAR as its second overseas market, the first being New York, because of its bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere.

“Hong Kong is a big, exciting, urban city and that’s really where Pret does best. We’re a big city concept,” said Mr Rolfe, who was in the SAR looking for sites in the business district of Central. There are plans for at least 10 outlets by end of next year.

Helping Pret A Manger (“ready-to-eat” in French) expand in New York and Hong Kong is fast food giant McDonald’s, which has a 33 per cent stake in the British chain.

“The beauty of the McDonald’s tie-up is that we can do a global deal. They can help us in New York and Hong Kong and if we decide to go to Singapore or Shanghai, they can help us there as well,” said Mr Rolfe referring to the real estate, distribution and construction services which McDonald’s offer.

Pret, which constantly stresses its fresh, healthy and additive-free food, opened its first shop in London in 1986. It will spend the next couple of years focusing on Hong Kong and adapting its recipes to suit the local market.

“If things go well in Hong Kong we can think about expanding to other busy cities in this region, where people eat a lot of food on the run,” Mr Rolfe said. Last year Pret A Manger served more than 25 million sandwiches and generated a 100 million pound (US$144.6 million) turnover in the UK.