Benjys was the first low priced chain of

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

shops in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The first branch of Benjys was opened in 1989 in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

by Paul Benjamin. The Benjamin family expanded the company offering low priced takeaway food, until it was sold for around £40 million in Aug 2000. The range of products included salads, yoghurts, hot food (such as hot sandwiches, jacket potatoes, pies and paninis), fresh fruit, Weight Watchers products, wraps, pastries, tea and coffee, an Atkins followers low-carb range, soft drinks, snack foods, and a range of bread products, including sandwiches, rolls, torpedoes and paninis. All Benjys products were produced at a central production unit based in 90 Monier Road,

Bow, East London Bow () is an area of East London within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is primarily a built-up and mostly residential area and is east of Charing Cross. It was in the traditional county of Middlesex but became part of the County o ...

which was opened in 1999. They employed approximately 200 staff at the unit. Benjys was awarded Sandwich Retailer of the Year, Sandwich Manufacturer of the Year and Marketeer of the Year by the

British Sandwich Association The British Sandwich & Food to Go Association (BSA) was founded in January 1990 and is based in Chepstow. The aim of the organization is to improve the sandwich industry by setting standards and rewarding excellent sandwich manufacturers and retai ...

in 2003 and Workplace Sandwich Supplier of the Year in 2005. Benjys Van Franchise ("Vanchise") business, Benjys Delivered, was launched in Sept 2003. The launch went public in September 2003 at the National Franchise Exhibition, held at the NEC. By 2007 there were 100 vans in operation. In a backed

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

buyout, the company expanded through

franchising Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

. Most of the sixty company branches were located in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of England, with franchises in major cities outside the South East, such as

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. The new management expanded turnover further by selling via van-operators in business parks. By 2006 the chain had 60 stores in London and the South East employing over 650 people. In 2006, the company went into a pre-packaged administration at the request of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

and backers ECI Ventures, and was sold by

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

-backed

Hamilton Bradshaw Hamilton Bradshaw (HB) is a mid-market private equity firm with its headquarters in London, England. The company was founded in 2003, by UK serial entrepreneur and former Dragons' Den panelist James Caan. Hamilton Bradshaw's main offices are loc ...

. Administrators were appointed in February 2007, when the company finally collapsed. At the time, Benjys employed over 650 people.

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References

Fast-food chains of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1989 Restaurants established in 1989 Fast-food franchises {{UK-retail-company-stub