Work from home has turned central London restaurants into a three-day job, says Itsu chief

Itsu chief executive Julian Metcalf said the habit of working from home has resulted in weekday visitor numbers in central London remaining below pre-pandemic levels level. Credit: Geoff Pugh

The rise of work-from-home has forced Itsu to effectively switch many of its central London restaurants to three-day hours, its chief executive said.

In the latest Land Grid reports, Julian Metcalfe noted that the performance of facilities in the «traditional centers of Itsu» — central London and the West End — «has changed fundamentally» due to post-pandemic hybrid work models.

The pandemic has forced many office employees work from home full time, but with the lifting of quarantine restrictions, many of these practices have remained, and the work week from Tuesday to Thursday in the office has become the new normal.

Mr Metcalfe said: «While city activity has proven very resilient, some workplace stores are now open for three days and Monday and Friday attendance is well below pre-pandemic levels as working from home has become the norm.»

As a result, Itsu began opening new properties in suburbs such as Brixton, Bromley, Putney and Guildford. In 2022, the company opened a total of 15 new facilities.

Mr Metcalfe added: «Sales in stores outside of London have surpassed pre-Covid levels as commuters have been working from home and the delivery business has changed.»

Where do you prefer to work? The

Pret A Manger survey, which was also founded by Mr. Metcalfe, has also focused on the suburbs and opened larger stores in areas where people typically work from home.

Pano Cristo, Executive Director Pret A Manger told The Telegraph last week: «I think there will still be opportunities in London… [but] much less than in the past.»

» I think that when we go to regional cities, we understand that the share of takeaway food is probably less, and the share of dinner in the restaurant is probably higher. So you just need to have more locations to attract that customer base.”

Mr. Metcalfe opened the first Pret in 1986 and then founded Itsu in 1997. He is no longer associated with Pret, having sold his last stake in 2018 when the sandwich chain was bought by investment firm JAB for around £1.5bn.

Itsu currently operates around 80 restaurants across The UK, and employs nearly 1,000 people.

The company nearly went bankrupt in the first year of the pandemic and was forced into an insolvency agreement after months of closure.

Itsu returned to profit in 2022 posting a £1.3m profit compared to a £7.9m loss in 2021 as sales jumped from £58.6m up to 101.2 million pounds.