Hundreds of Greggs employees will share a £17.6m bonus pot this month after the bakery chain well-known for its sausage rolls and steak bakes mentioned it had made a document annual revenue and overtaken McDonald’s to turn out to be the UK’s hottest breakfast spot.
Britain’s largest bakery chain mentioned 25,000 staff – out of a complete of 32,000 throughout the UK – would obtain a bonus of their pay packets on the finish of March, because it reported a 27% bounce in income to £188m.
Underneath a revenue share settlement, Greggs shares 10% of income annually with workers who’ve labored on the chain for a minimum of six months. The cost to every worker varies: for instance, somebody working 22 hours per week with six years’ service will obtain £765.
Greggs mentioned there was higher information for its prospects too, with no additional value rises deliberate this yr. It elevated costs by between 5p and 10p on some gadgets in December however held down the price of bestselling gadgets together with its sausage rolls and vegan sausage rolls.
Roisin Currie, the Greggs chief govt, mentioned: “We’ve no plans for additional value rises. We’re nonetheless speaking about the price of residing disaster. We all know that the patron disposable earnings stays below stress.
“It’ll be one other powerful yr, final yr and the yr earlier than have been powerful for the patron, and which will proceed via this yr. What’s useful is that we’re seeing a decrease degree of inflation within the economic system.”
Greggs expects price inflation of between 4% and 5% this yr, led by wage rises, though this partly is determined by geopolitical dangers however Murphy mentioned the corporate at present anticipated that to be offset by the December value rise and effectivity financial savings.
Value inflation averaged 8.5% final yr however ended 2023 nearer to five%, as pay was fastened from January, meals and packaging value rises slowed through the second half and vitality prices have been much less unstable.
Currie mentioned Greggs had overtaken McDonald’s to turn out to be the UK’s No 1 takeaway breakfast vendor for the primary time, with 19.6% of visits, after including gadgets comparable to bacon rolls to its menu and regularly shifting opening hours to between 5am and 6.30am from 8am or later 10 years in the past.
“We’ve been evolving into that market,” she mentioned, including that Greggs was not anticipating to overhaul McDonald’s for later meals, as its share of takeaway dinners remains to be lower than 2%, for instance.
The corporate mentioned its full day market share was a document excessive, with its share of food-to-go visits 8.2%, up from 7.7% in 2022.
The corporate raised its dividend payout to shareholders, after posting 8.2% progress in like-for-like gross sales – at shops open a minimum of a yr – within the first 9 weeks of 2024. Pre-tax revenue rose 27% to £188m in 2023. Gross sales in company-managed outlets climbed 13.7% yr on yr.
Signal as much as Enterprise Immediately
Get set for the working day – we’ll level you to all of the enterprise information and evaluation you want each morning
Privateness Discover: Newsletters might include data about charities, on-line adverts, and content material funded by exterior events. For extra data see our Privateness Coverage. We use Google reCaptcha to guard our web site and the Google Privateness Coverage and Phrases of Service apply.
after publication promotion
The chain launched a brand new vary of flatbread sandwiches and new savoury bakes, together with the spicy vegetable curry bake. It mentioned night meals comparable to hen goujons, potato wedges and pizzas have been promoting effectively, and it introduced again the vegan steak bake after prospects requested for it.
The rise within the nationwide minimal wage to £11.44 an hour for adults aged 21 and over from 1 April ought to assist to “put some extra money into the pockets of the patron”, Currie mentioned.
The night is the fastest-growing a part of the day, and Greggs is seeking to rent extra workers to serve prospects on their manner residence from work. Supply gross sales grew 23.6% final yr after partnerships with Simply Eat and Uber Eats.
Greggs runs 2,473 outlets after 145 internet openings final yr, together with at Canary Wharf and Waterloo stations in London and at Gatwick airport. It intends to confide in 160 internet new outlets this yr, as it’s aiming for greater than 3,000 UK shops over the long run. A few of these might be through partnerships with retailers together with Primark, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Greggs shares have been up 5% on Tuesday morning, making it one of many largest risers on the FTSE 250.