Greggs sales top £2bn for first time as expansion drive continues

Greggs’ sales have topped £2bn for the first time and the company says it is on target to double the size of its business over a five-year period.

The Newcastle firm, which has become the UK’s leading breakfast seller, has released preliminary results for 2024 in which it saw an 11.4% increase in sales to £2.014bn. Over the same period, underlying operating profit went up to £195.3m.

Chief executive Roisin Currie noted the impact of increased wage costs heading to the company as a result of last year’s Budget but said that Greggs was on track to meet its target of doubling the size of the business between 2021 and 2026. She said that any prices the company needed to make would be kept to an “absolute minimum”.

2024 saw Greggs increase the size of its estate to 2,618 and it expects to add around 150 more shops this year.

The company announced a £20.5m bonus for its staff and also highlighted some of the work it does for the good of its communities, including the opening of the UK’s 1,000th Greggs breakfast club and the opening of more outlet stores selling cheaper food in deprived communities.

The firm has 33,000 colleagues, of which around 80% will qualify for the profit share scheme, and Greggs said the exact amount received by each colleague will vary, depending on length of service and the hours they work.

Ms Currie said: “2024 was another record-breaking year for Greggs; we exceeded £2bn in sales for the first time and opened our 2,600th shop. Our people have worked tirelessly to deliver on our strategic ambition to further establish Greggs as a multi-channel food-to-go retailer and I want to acknowledge their efforts. It is thanks to their hard work, week after week, that we continue to grow, all the while maintaining the great prices, high-quality products, and friendly service that keep our customers coming back, again and again.

“In 2021, we set our sights on doubling sales by 2026 and having a significantly bigger business over the longer term. Three years into this five-year plan, sales are on track and we continue to be confident in the growth opportunity in front of us. The brand is in better shape than ever, with a material opportunity to continue growing and developing the Greggs estate and plenty of scope to continue to grow in newer dayparts and channels.”

During the year Greggs continued to expand away from traditional high street locations, as part of its strategy to make sure Greggs shops are open wherever customers will be, in drive-thrus, retail parks and transport hubs.

Over the years, Greggs has restructured its manufacturing facilities, setting up 'centres of excellence' with certain areas looking after production of specific food items while work is progressing on two new sites to increase logistics capacity at Derby and Kettering.

The year also saw Greggs welcome in thousands of people to its Greggs champagne bar in Fenwicks department store in Newcastle, and CEO Roisin Currie - who personally dined at the tongue-in-cheek destination - hinted at more unusual marketing stunts to come.