Pret will continue what it does and McDonalds will continue what it does. That is not quite the way McDonald's sees it. There are bound to be clashes. The latest Pret fad is organic milk. This friendship with the environmental lobby could be wrecked by its link with McDonald's .
Green activists are deeply suspicious about the way it sources meat.
Those on the left are similarly sceptical, complaining of horror stories about staff pay and conditions. But the proof is in the pudding. We've developed a relationship of trust with our customers over many years. Metcalfe and Beecham, who sold shares in the deal, maintain that their personal wealth is easily exaggerated. McDonald's and Pret a Manger make an odd couple.