Benjys

Closed down Benjys outlet at 38 Beak Street, Central London

Benjys was the first low priced chain of sandwich shops in the United Kingdom.

The first branch of Benjys was opened in 1989 by Paul Benjamin. The Benjamin family expanded the company offering low priced takeaway food, until it was sold for around £40 million at the turn of the millennium.

In a backed venture capital buyout, the company expanded through franchising. Most of the sixty company branches were located in London and the South East of England, with franchises in major cities outside the South East, such as Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham. The new management expanded turnover further by selling via van-operators in business parks.

In 2006, the company went into a pre-packaged administration at the request of Barclays Bank and backers ECI Ventures, and was sold by Deloitte to James Caan-backed Hamilton Bradshaw. Administrators were appointed in February 2007, when the company finally collapsed. At the time, Benjys employed over 650 people.