Greggs says it plans to continue opening new shops at pace having launched a record number of new sites last year and generated sales of more than £2bn.
The Newcastle-based high street favourite hailed another year of progress against its plans to create a network of more than 3,000 shops in the UK as it opened a record 226 new shops and a net 145 new shops given relocations and closures. Full-year sales of the chain’s baked treats, sandwiches, hot food and drinks grew 11.3% to £2.01bn despite lower consumer confidence impacting footfall and spending on the high street.
Greggs bosses said that in a challenging market it had maintained its share of visits and had retained its crown as the UK’s number one destination for breakfast, having overtaken fast food giant McDonald’s last year. Customers were enticed by seasonal menu items such as the festive bake, vegan festive bake and a new festive flatbread. And pizza was said to have sold well throughout the day and evening with sales of pizza boxes and bundle deals growing.
Meanwhile, a “rapid roll-out” of equipment meant over-ice drinks became available in 1,100 shops. The popular drinks are expected to be made available in more shops throughout 2025.
Roisin Currie, chief executive, said: “2024 was another year of good progress by Greggs, with a record number of new shops opened and the £2bn sales milestone surpassed. I’m proud of our teams who, day in and day out, do such a fantastic job for our customers.
“We enter 2025 with a strong pipeline of new shop opportunities, and we continue to broaden our menu and enhance our digital capabilities, whilst also developing our supply chain capacity to deliver our growth strategy. Whilst lower consumer confidence continues to impact high street footfall and expenditure, our value-for-money offer and the quality of our freshly-prepared food and drink position us well to meet the headwinds we expect to see in the year ahead, and we remain confident in the significant long-term opportunity for growth.”
Overall, the new shop openings meant Greggs had a total of 2,618 shops trading at the end of 2024, including 2,057 company-managed shops and 561 franchised units. Between 140 and 150 net new shops are planned this year.
Planned investment in additional supply chain capacity to support growth plans was said to be on track, including the building of a new frozen product manufacturing and logistics facility in Derby, which will open in 2026. In Kettering, Northamptonshire, Greggs has purchased land and secured planning consent for a new chilled and ambient National Distribution Centre. Construction of the centre will start soon with hopes it will be operational in mid-2027.
Greggs ended 2024 with a net cash position of £125m, down from £195m in 2023, which it said reflected its investment in growth.