Greggs has 160 shop openings baked into business plan

Bakery chain Greggs is on track to open as many as 160 new shops over the course of this year. In the first 19 weeks of the year, the company opened a net 27 shops, taking its total to 2,500. In a stock market update, it said it was “confident” in opening a net 140-160 for the full year. Recent openings included sites at Embankment Underground station, four shops with Tesco and three with Sainsbury’s. The company opened a gross 64 shops and closed 37. Like-for-like sales in company-managed shops grew by 7.4%, with total sales up at £693m from £609m a year ago. Development of two new logistics sites in the Midlands is continuing, while the company has agreed a lease on a site at SmartParc SEGRO Derby for a manufacturing facility.