A&W plans to open the first trial of UK-based chain Pret A Manger this summer in Vancouver after signing an agreement granting the restaurant chain with master franchisor rights in Canada.

A&W says it is introducing Pret's freshly made food and organic coffee as part of a two-year pilot where it will open the Pret brand within A&W restaurants in select Canadian markets.

If the trial phase is successful, A&W Food Services will have the exclusive right to expand the Pret brand across Canada based on an agreed upon development schedule.

A&W chief executive Susan Senecal believes Canadian consumers will respond "very positively and come to love the Pret brand and all that it represents." 

The A&W Fund receives royalties equal to three per cent of gross sales at 1,000 A&W restaurants in the royalty pool. The royalty would also apply to Pret products sold in restaurants.

Pret A Manger, which opened in London in 1986, offers sandwiches, salads and wraps, along with organic coffee in more than 550 shops in the U.K., U.S. and several other countries.