British bakery chain Greggs plans to open 150 stores this year

British bakery chain Greggs plans to open 150 new stores in the UK this year as the take-away food retailer reported rising sales and profits despite inflationary pressures.

Greggs announced Tuesday that it would focus its expansion of its store presence in retail parks, urban transportation hubs and drive-through outlets, bringing the company closer to its goal of expanding its footprint to more than 3,000 stores.

The expansion plans follow a year of strong trading despite “significant inflationary pressures,” the bakery chain said. Greggs posted like-for-like sales growth of 17.8% year-on-year, taking total sales to £1.5 billion, while pre-tax profit rose 1.9% year-on-year to £148 million.

Roisin Currie, Greggs Chief Executive, said the retailer’s growth plan will “be a focus in the coming year as we make Greggs more accessible to even more customers”.

“Although consumer incomes remain under pressure, Greggs continues to offer exceptional value,” she added.