It has been more than a year since Worcester's Pret A Manger closed its doors for good - but a new announcement could mean the coffee chain is making a comeback.

Pret a Manger has said it will open more than 200 UK shops over the next two years, after securing a further £100 million cash injection.

The company's 'post-pandemic restructuring' took place last year after sales and footfall were hit hard by a heavy reduction in the number of people travelling into city centres for office work, with more people working from home due to the pandemic.

Pret said its regional shops were now at their strongest ever levels while its London City sites had rebounded to 72% of weekly pre-pandemic sales.

The company said it will look to continue the latest phase of its recovery strategy by investing to rapidly expand its shop estate.

It revealed that it has been backed by a new £100 million net investment by owner JAB Holdings and founder Sinclair Beecham.

Funding will be used to help the group double in size within five years, after closing 30 stores last year - as well as thousands of people losing their jobs.

However, when Worcester News asked if we'd be getting a branch back on the High Street, a spokesman said locations for the stores have not yet been confirmed.

A spokesman said: "We’re not able to comment on exact locations yet.

"Pret will be focusing on regional and suburban areas in the UK, including transport hubs and motorways."

Pano Christou, chief executive officer, said that the decision was made after seeing a strong growth in those areas.

He said: "“We are keen to open more stores in regional and suburban areas, as these have been really strong recently,” he said.

"We have obviously kept an eye on the way trends have shifted since the pandemic and obviously areas such as service stations have been particularly busy, so that it why we have linked with Moto and Motor Fuel Group

"We are seeing lots of property opportunities but it is unsurprisingly competitive for the best sites, but I think landlords see us as a really strong brand and are keen to bring Pret in."