Britain has not hit peak Greggs, CEO says

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) -British baker and fast food chain Greggs is keeping its foot on the pedal in an expansion drive, despite a slowdown in sales growth that dragged down first-half profit by 14%, its boss said on Tuesday.

Greggs, known for sausage rolls, steak bakes, vegan alternatives and sweet treats, has more stores than McDonald's in Britain and opened a net 31 new stores over its first half to June 28, taking the total to 2,649.

It said it was on track to open 140 to 150 new shops in 2025, saw an opportunity for "significantly more" than 3,000 shops over the longer term and ultimately saw scope for more than 4,500.

However, like-for-like sales growth slowed to 2.6% in the first half versus 5.5% in 2024, which Greggs partly blamed on June's heatwave, prompting some investors to reportedly call for expansion to be slowed.

"I completely do not believe we've reached peak Greggs," CEO Roisin Currie told Reuters in an interview.

"There are still significant parts of the UK where you cannot access a Greggs," she said, adding that it was underrepresented in retail parks, supermarkets, roadside and transport locations.

Shares in Greggs were down 4.5%, extending 2025 losses to 44%.

Despite the slump, Currie, CEO since 2022, said she did not believe her job was under threat.

"I'm not responsible for the share price," she said. "My job is to make sure that we continue to take every opportunity and make strategic progress."

Greggs made a pretax profit of 63.5 million pounds ($84.8 million) in the six months to June 28, on total sales up 7.0% at 1.03 billion pounds, boosted by new store openings.

This month, Greggs warned full year profit "could be modestly below" 2024 levels after underlying sales growth slowed in a June heatwave that boosted demand for cold drinks but reduced overall shopper numbers.

Greggs' growth is also being supported by the expansion of its menu, longer opening hours into the evening, increased delivery sales through Just Eat and Uber Eats and loyalty building through the Greggs App.

($1=0.7492 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Clarence Fernandez)