Greggs has reported a 2.9% jump in like-for-like sales at its company-managed shops in Q4, although the bakery chain warned that “subdued consumer confidence” had impacted its performance across the full year.

Total sales in the company’s year to 27 December were up by 6.8% to £2.15bn, but Greggs warned that consumer confidence would remain a market headwind in the year ahead.

The bakery chain stated that this, combined with the costs of introducing its new supply chain capacity, would put “temporary pressure on margins”.

Following the release of its Q4 results, shares in the FTSE 250 company fell by more than 8% in this morning’s trading.

Greggs’ latest trading statement revealed that it opened 207 new shops in the year, alongside 50 relocations and 36 closures, leading to 121 net new shop openings in 2025. This took the chain’s total to 2,739 shops trading at the end of 2025, as it said store openings would continue to drive sales growth in 2026, with a fresh target of 120 net openings this year.

“We made good progress in 2025, in a challenging year where subdued consumer confidence impacted the food-to-go market,” commented Greggs chief executive, Roisin Currie. “Against this backdrop, I’m pleased that Greggs outperformed the wider market and increased its market share of visits.

“We enter 2026 with a strong pipeline of new opportunities to make Greggs even more convenient for customers. This is underpinned by the investments we have been making in our supply chain capacity, which start to become operational this year.

“Our ongoing focus on efficiency allows us to deliver exceptional value to customers who are managing their budgets carefully.”

Greggs, which will announce its preliminary results on 3 March, revealed it was expecting to deliver profits at a “similar underlying level to 2025”.

The bakery chain also suggested that any year-on-year improvement was “contingent on a recovery in the consumer backdrop”.

AJ Bell investment director, Russ Mould, said that Greggs’ Q4 update “could have been worse”, despite the dip in the company’s share price.

“The plan to open 120 new shops on a net basis in 2026, less than expected, may prompt reductions to estimates for the year ahead,” Mould added.

“Like-for-like sales growth on the fourth quarter of 2025 came to 2.9% year-on-year, the best rate of increase in any three-month period last year.

“Even if that was helped by a softer base for comparison, this improvement in momentum may help to allay longstanding fears over whether Greggs’ menus are now too complex and also ease wider concerns over the state of consumer confidence, high street footfall and the UK economy.”

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