Lion Capital and Bridgepoint Capital are in a two-horse race to buy Pret a Manger after a third bidder dropped out of the running. The Independent

Icelandic investment group FL Group has withdrawn from the sale process.

A source has described the £450m price tag for the company as ‘absolutely astounding.

The company has about 150 stores, as well as outlets in Hong Kong and New York. A sale at £450m would equate to about £3m per store.

When restaurant group Tragus bought Italian restaurant chain Strada, for £140m in May, the per site rate was about £2.4m.