Greggs staff will each get £300 extra pay this month as bakery chain hands out £7m in bonuses after ‘phenomenal’ 9.2% sales rise boosted by new vegan range
- Greggs, which hires around 25,000, will pay the full bonus to 19,000 employees
- Workers will be paid around £300 on top of regular pay at the end of January
- The bakery chain said its underlying pre-tax profit will be ahead of expectations
- It comes a year after the anticipated launch of the company’s vegan sausage roll
The largest bakery chain in Britain will pay its staff around £300 each in bonuses this year, following a ‘phenomenal’ sales rise boosted by its new vegan range.
Greggs announced a £7million windfall payment to its employees, saying its underlying pre-tax profit, even with the payout to staff, would be ahead of expectations when it announces the 2019 results in March.
The company, which hires around 25,000 employees, will pay the full bonus to 19,000 staff who joined before April last year, and can expect around £300 each on top of their regular pay at the end of January. Other employees will receive approximately £75 per quarter they have been working at the business.
Greggs had a ‘phenomenal’ 9.2 percent sales rise this year, boosted by its new vegan range. The vegan sausage roll has helped push up sales and extend the chain’s appeal (file photo)
Chief Executive Roger Whiteside said: ‘I am delighted to announce that we will also be making a special additional payment to all of our colleagues across the business who have worked so hard to deliver this success in what has been a phenomenal year.’
It comes a year after the anticipated launch of Greggs’ vegan sausage roll, which has helped push up sales and extend the chain’s appeal to a new audience.
The meat-free pastry snack, which is now being termed as ‘iconic’ by the company, has been followed by other initiatives with the recent launch of a vegan steak bake and a vegan doughnut.
The company promised to keep evolving to cater to other chosen diets.
The company also recently launched a vegan steak bake (pictured) and a vegan doughnut. Sales grew 3.5 percent compared to 7.2 percent growth in 2018 (file photo)
Greggs opened 138 new shops and closed 41 over the year, bringing its total to 2,050 across the UK. It plans to add a further 100 throughout 2020.
Sales grew 13.5 percent compared to 7.2 percent growth in 2018. Like-for-like sales, which strips out the effect of shop openings and closures, were up 9.2 percent.
Mr Whiteside said: ‘Looking to the year ahead, we face strong sales comparatives and cost inflation headwinds present a challenge.’
Among these challenges, which were predicted to be tougher than in recent years, are the increase in national living wage costs, the business said. It also warned the rising price of pork was likely to impact the business.
In October, Greggs said it was stockpiling key ingredients, such as pork, ahead of Brexit.