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Tue 1st Oct 2024 - Greggs reports total sales up 10.6% in third quarter |
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Greggs reports total sales up 10.6% in third quarter supported by menu development, extended trading hours and new digital channels: Food-to-go retailer Greggs has reported “strong like-for-like sales growth” with total sales up 10.6% in the 13 weeks to 28 September 2024, supported by menu development, extended trading hours and new digital channels. Like-for-like sales in company-managed shops rose by 5.0% when compared with the same period in 2023, with September the strongest month of the quarter. Year-to-date total sales are up 12.7%, with like-for-like sales up 6.5%. The company said this growth was supported by menu development and further progress in extended trading hours and new digital channels. Its new over-ice drinks range is already available in 800 shops, and this is expected to 1,000 shops by the end of the year. Its new autumn menu features an All-Day Breakfast Baguette and Mexican Bean & Spicy Cheese Flatbread, while a Pumpkin Spice Doughnut has been added to the sweet range. A new pizza option, BBQ chicken, has been introduced, while pizza sharing boxes are now available in both four slice and six slice boxes. In the year to date, Greggs has opened 152 new shops and closed 66 (including 43 relocations), giving a total of 2,559 shops trading at 28 September 2024 (comprising 2,016 company-managed shops and 543 franchised units). Openings in the third quarter included two drive-thrus in Bristol, at Abbeywood Retail Park and Harlequin Business Park. For the year as a whole, Greggs expects 140 to 160 net shop openings, including around 50 relocations and 55 net openings with franchise partners. The company has completed the redevelopment of its Birmingham distribution centre and the extension of its Amesbury distribution centre, adding logistics capacity to support a further 300 shops in its southern network. Construction of our new frozen product manufacturing and logistics facility in Derby is progressing in line with plan and expected to open in 2026, while the planning application for anew chilled and ambient National Distribution Centre in Kettering has been submitted, with the site expected to open in 2027. Full year guidance for capital expenditure in 2024 remains in the range of £250m-£280m. “Greggs continues to extend its reach, bringing new shops closer to customers and establishing the supply chain capacity to support further growth,” the company said. “With increased forward buying cover, we now expect the overall level of cost inflation for 2024 to be towards the lower end of the 4-5% range previously communicated. At a time when consumers continue to face uncertainty, Greggs offers exceptional value for money. While acknowledging ongoing economic uncertainty, the board expects the full year outcome to be in line with its previous expectations. The board remains confident in the long-term growth opportunity for Greggs, and we are investing to support that growth.”
Premium Club members to receive updated segmented Multi-Site Database on Friday featuring 782 pub and bar operators: Premium Club members are to receive the updated Multi-Site Database on Friday (4 October). The next Propel Multi-Site Database provides details of 3,246 multi-site operators and is now searchable in seven main segments. The database features 958 (30%) operators from the casual dining sector, 782 (24%) pub and bar operators, 544 (17%) cafe bakery operators, 442 (14%) quick service restaurant operators, 266 (8%) hotel operators, 200 (6%) experiential leisure operators and 54 (2%) fine dining operators. The database is updated each month and this edition includes 16 new companies. New additions in the pub and bar sector include Newgate Pubs & Bars, the venture led by former Cameron’s Brewery pub estates and operations director Joe Smith; Collaborative Pub Co, with a second opening in Worcestershire; and Wunderbar, the Glasgow German beer hall concept. Premium Club members also receive access to five additional databases: the New Openings Database, the Turnover & Profits Blue Book, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database, the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who's Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Clubs members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including the Talent and Training Conference (1 October), Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025) and Excellence in Pub Retail (May 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.
Toca Social UK returns to profit: Toca Social UK, the interactive football bar concept, returned to profit in the year to 31 December 2023. It turned a pre-tax loss of £448,990 in 2022 into a profit of £222,440. Turnover rose from £5,133,478 in 2022 to £5,387,586. No dividends were paid (2022: nil). “UK inflation has driven cost and pricing decisions to be made during the year to safeguard the company's brand and value appeal,” director Michael Brent said. “In the UK, inflation has been a significant factor in the cost-of-living scenario the country is currently experiencing. Toca Social UK business is holding resolute with these cost-of-living impacts and their direct impacts on the hospitality market. There are plans in 2024 to extend the current portfolio of games and a new game is scheduled to be released in 2024 which will enhance the guest experience. The company will focus on growing and enhancing its corporate events offering in 2024. The continued effects of the rise of inflation will continue to apply pressure on the supply of materials, particularly wage and commodity prices. The directors of Toca Social UK now consider the business to be in a robust position and able to deal with any unknown factors that 2024 will present.” Toca Social currently has two UK sites, with a third location, and largest yet, set to open next year at Westfield White City. In July, president Alex Harman told Propel that he sees 20-30 UK venues as a “realistic long term target”. The business is also opening its first venue in continental Europe next year, in Paris, and is planning to open 20-plus European venues together over the coming years. It is targeting “dozens” of US venues after making its debut there next summer, with Toca Social Dallas set to open in the summer of 2025. A new report has been produced by Propel on the fast-growing experiential leisure sector. The report profiles the current shape of the experiential leisure market – including brands, estate size, trading type and geographical location and future trends. It provides a detailed list of UK experiential leisure companies including key staff and Companies House information. The report includes more than 180 companies, 3,500 sites and a 35,000-word report. The report was made available this month to Premium Club members. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to order a copy.
Historical theme park operator Puy du Fou reveals further details for planned UK site: Historical theme park operator Puy du Fou has revealed further details for its planned UK site. Propel reported in February 2023 that award-winning business had instructed Savills as it looks to secure its first site here and was looking for a site of up to 400 acres in central England, preferably within a 40-mile radius of Oxford. The Telegraph now reports that the owners plan to open the interactive park by 2028, with proposals focusing on a site just off the M40’s junction 10 near the village of Bucknell. It said the £300m investment will create 700 jobs on site and 2,000 spin-offs. The project is also likely to go “beyond net zero”, with a Puy du Fou UK spokesman saying: “We are planting the first forest in Oxfordshire for 500 years. We are hoping that 50% of visitors will come by public transport. The infrastructure in Oxfordshire is already very good.” There will be further consultations early next year and the full planning application, including one or maybe two on-site hotels, should be submitted next summer, the newspaper said. The English Puy du Fou park will be the second outside France after a Spanish version established in Toledo in 2021, and will be be inspired by British history. “We’re already working with British historians on the project,” said the spokesman. The French park features mainly 30-40-minute shows ranging from Ben-Hur chariot racing and gladiators in a full-sized replica of a Roman arena to a walk-through evocation of Verdun in the First World War – also taking in the knights of the round table, a viking raid with a longboat and an epic Hundred Years war tableau. There are also four historical villages and six history-themed hotels on site, while summer nights see a vast historical fresco spread across a 57-acre stage.
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