Greggs posts fourth quarter sales growth despite ‘challenging’ market
Greggs has posted a 7.4% increase in fourth quarter total sales despite “challenging” market conditions.
Meanwhile, company managed shop like-for-like sales rose by 2.9%.
The performance meant the food-to-go retailer’s full year total sales climbed by 6.8% year-on-year to £2.151 billion with company-managed shop like-for-like sales increasing by 2.4%.
Over the year, Greggs opened 207 new shops with an average of around four openings a week. After 50 relocations and 36 closures, this resulted in 121 net new openings, bringing the total estate to 2,739 shops trading at the year end. The company is currently looking to open around 120 net new stores this year.
Subscribe to TRBGreggs said operational costs remained well controlled, with input costs in line with expectations. Ongoing structural cost reduction initiatives delivered £13 million in efficiencies in 2025, as the business continued to unlock additional value across its integrated supply chain and wider operations.
It also revealed that its planned investment in additional supply chain capacity is on track. The company is currently testing operational processes at its new frozen product logistics and manufacturing facility in Derby and has completed the initial build phase of its new national distribution centre in Kettering, which is due to open in 2027.
In light of the fourth quarter trading, Greggs is expecting its full year profit for the 2025 financial year to be in line with previous expectations.
Roisin Currie, chief executive of Greggs, said: “We made good progress in 2025, in a challenging year where subdued consumer confidence impacted the food-to-go market. Against this backdrop, I’m pleased that Greggs outperformed the wider market and increased its market share of visits.
“We enter 2026 with a strong pipeline of new opportunities to make Greggs even more convenient for customers. This is underpinned by the investments we have been making in our supply chain capacity, which start to become operational this year. Our ongoing focus on efficiency allows us to deliver exceptional value to customers who are managing their budgets carefully.”
Greggs said it expects consumer confidence to remain a market headwind in the year ahead and that the costs of introducing new supply chain capacity will put some temporary pressure on margins.
It added: “However, our competitive position remains strong and we continue to take market share in a challenging food-to-go market. Our store opening programme will continue to drive further strong sales growth.”
