LEADING sandwich chain Pret A Manger has opened for business in Basingstoke’s Festival Place.

And judging from the steady flow of customers on its opening day on Friday, the food outlet should prove to be a great success. It employs 24 people – 17 of whom are new to Pret.

The shop’s general manager, David Vera, said: “It’s early days, but we’ve been delighted with the number of customers we served in our first weekend of opening.

“We have a great team in place who are enjoying getting to know our new customers and we’ve received some very positive feedback on our menu.”

He said the chain had regularly received requests to open a shop in Basingstoke, and the opportunity to launch in Festival Place “felt like a good fit.”

Situated on the ground floor in the former Moss Bros unit, close to the Sports Centre, Pret A Manger provides a full menu of handmade natural food and organic coffee.

The new shop also features a seating area with more than 110 spaces.

Pret’s entire range of sandwiches, baguettes and salads are freshly made on-site and are never kept overnight.

The business is also keen to put something back into the community by supporting social enterprise and a charity Home Group in Basingstoke.