Staff at Greggs are being rewarded with a special £7m bonus after a “phenomenal” year for the bakery chain which has benefitted from its move into the vegan food market.
The payment, which will see thousands of workers each receive up to £300 extra this month, was announced alongside the company’s latest trading statement which included a profit upgrade.
For its 2019 financial year, total sales at Greggs grew by 13.5% and company-managed shops saw like-for-like growth of 9.2%. In the fourth quarter ending 28 December, like-for-like sales increased 8.7% compared 5.2% in the same period the previous year.
The group stated that growth had continued to be driven by additional customer visits with strong demand for both its traditional ranges and new meat-free lines such as its vegan-friendly sausage roll.
During the year, Greggs opened 138 new shops and closed 41, growing the estate to 2,050 outlets. In the year ahead, its expects around 100 net shop openings.
Chief Executive Roger Whiteside said the company had delivered a strong finish to what has been an “exceptional year” for the Greggs. The group is now expecting full year underlying pre-tax profit to be slightly higher than its previous forecasts.
Whiteside added: “The major investments we have made in recent years to make Greggs an attractive choice in the food-on-the-go market are delivering. Consumers are responding very positively and we have seen increasing visits from both new and existing customers.”
Looking ahead, he warned that the business faced strong sales comparatives and “cost inflation headwinds” from national living wage increases and the rising cost of pork.
However, Whiteside stressed that there were “further growth opportunities across a number of channels as we invest in new ways to make Greggs more accessible and convenient for customers.”
