Greggs shuts 56 stores amid ‘challenging start’ to the year
Greggs has shut more than 50 stores in the first half of 2025 after reporting a “challenging start” to the year.
The number of closures without relocation is up 61 per cent compared to the same period last year, while the number of net new shops opening is down 40 per cent to 31, in signs the company is paring back its expansion plans.
Greggs said it was targeting a “disciplined estate expansion” as the Newcastle-based business insisted there was still the opportunity to grow its footprint from its current 2,649 UK stores to “significantly more than 3,000.”
The company reported a 7 per cent rise in total sales to just over £1bn for the 26 weeks to the end of June, a halving of sales growth compared to the first half of 2024, while pre-tax profit slipped 14 per cent to £63.5m as the bakery said it was “impacted by challenging market footfall, more weather disruption than in 2024, and phasing of cost headwinds.”
Mark Crouch, market analyst at eToro, said: “Greggs has long been a reliable read on the UK high street. Its sudden stumble suggests consumers may not just be cooling on sausage rolls, but that appetite across the high street may be waning more broadly.
“With inflation easing and real wages recovering, the macro backdrop should, in theory, be supportive. That it isn’t showing up in Greggs’ numbers, is a red flag.”
Greggs did not change its guidance but cautioned that its full-year operating profit was expected to be “modestly below” the level achieved last year.
Chief executive Roisin Currie said: “After a challenging start to 2025 we remain clear on the strategic opportunities that lie ahead.
“Through our disciplined estate expansion and focus on innovation, Greggs is evolving its offer further and making the brand more convenient for a wider range of customers.
“The outlook for cost inflation is unchanged and we are making great progress in building the supply chain infrastructure that will support the next phase of growth.”
The firm, famed for its sausage rolls and steak bakes, said it was continuing to invest into shoring up its supply chain to support further store estate expansion. That includes a new frozen manufacturing and logistics site in Derby, which has now been built, and a new distribution centre in Kettering, which is scheduled for completion in 2027.
Greggs declared a dividend of 19p, in line with last year.
The firm’s shares fell 2.2 per cent in early London trade. The stock is down more than 40 per cent since the start of the year.