Greggs has revealed a jump in sales and profits in 2024 as it launched new shops, extended its opening hours and raised prices.
The bakery chain, which has more than 2,600 shops across the UK, generated sales topping £2 billion – up 11.3% from 2023.
This was partly driven by the opening of about 225 new shops during the year, a record amount for the group.
Excluding the impact of new openings, sales grew 5.5% compared with the prior year, which reflected longer opening hours in some shops and the roll-out of delivery services, but weighed down by a generally tougher market over the second half of the year.
Greggs said many customers were continuing to worry about the cost of living including energy prices, mortgage and rent costs.
The chain raised the prices of some of its food items last year – most recently, the national price of its traditional sausage roll increased by 5p to £1.30.
The group made a pre-tax profit of £203.9 million for the year, 8.3% higher than in 2023.
It also said it would be sharing £20.5 million with its staff as part of its profit-sharing scheme, where 10% of profits are distributed to employees who have worked for Greggs for six months or more.
