Learn from Pret A Manger what they do best.

Hey

Welcome to Bankrolling Tomorrow - your no-BS guide to raising capital for your business. 

Hope you've got some amazing plans to transform yourself (or your kids) into pumpkins, superheroes, or whatever Halloween madness you're plotting.

So let's jump straight into business.

This week, I broke down Pret A Manger’s capital raise in detail.

Big Credit: Pret really mastered the psychology loop - so much strategic chaos, and I love it. 

But what they did even better was execute an incredible capital raise.

Now, what you can learn from Pret (definitely not how to make a coffee, let’s be honest):

1/ Prioritise predictability over everything: Forget your glossy profit margins and vanity revenue spikes. Lenders are asking one question: how certain is the next £10k coming in? The more regular and reliable, the stronger your hand when you need capital.

2/ Lock in behaviour, not just sales: One-off transactions don't impress investors. Systems that get customers to repeat - almost without thinking - do. That's what subscriptions and retainers really are: financial flywheels. Build them early, and you can negotiate debt on your own terms.

3/ Smooth the spikes: Big wins look great online, but lenders don’t love unpredictable cash flow. If your income swings wildly month to month, it signals risk. Spread payments out, set up regular billing, avoid relying on one huge contract. Stability might look dull, but it's what lenders trust.

Pret didn't get valued at £2bn because they brew brilliant coffee. They got it because they turned habits into steady cash flow that lenders could actually bet on. Build that predictability, and funding stops being a prayer.

Also side note, but someone validated my point of view on LinkedIn, and I love the comment. 

Anyway, before you go…

Thanks for allowing me into your inbox every week.

If you have any questions, or want to discuss any of my rants on these topics in depth, reply to this email, and I will get back to you ASAP.

Talk soon,

James