Irish sandwich bars chain to spread

ONE of Britain's biggest sandwich bar chains has finally decided the time is right to move into the London market.

O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars may be an unfamiliar name for the capital's office workers but it has been steadily expanding across the UK, where it currently has 130 outlets - making it bigger than the better-known Pret A Manger.

Chief executive Brody Sweeney has been holding back the group's expansion inside the M25, having taken fright at sky-high rents.

'The London market has just been too hot. We would have been up against all the coffee bar guys and it just wasn't worth it,' he said. 'But now we're seeing far more realism in prices again. Opportunities are starting to come up.'

With Bank of Scotland's venture capital arm behind him, Sweeney looked seriously at bidding for Coffee Republic. But after protracted negotiations, he decided the price was not right. O'Briens is moving its head office from Leeds to Hammersmith. The group plans to open 100 stores in the capital, and is already getting ready for business on three sites.