Greggs

Value-led food-to-go, baked through the day

Greggs is the UK’s largest bakery and food-to-go chain, and it reaches part of its estate through franchise partners rather than company-managed shops.

Founded in 1939, when John Gregg delivered fresh eggs and yeast by pushbike to families around Newcastle, the business opened its first shop, Greggs of Gosforth, on Gosforth High Street around a decade later. It now trades from 2,773 shops as at 27 June 2026, of which 627 are run by franchise partners. Franchising began in the early 2010s, with the first units operated under licence by Moto Hospitality: 21 of 1,690 shops at 29 June 2013. By the end of 2025 Greggs was working with 14 franchise partners and had added 57 franchised shops during the year, taking franchised sites to just over 20% of the estate. Total sales reached £2.15 billion in the 52 weeks to 27 December 2025, and like-for-like system sales in franchised shops rose 4.3% to £325.6 million. Greggs employs more than 33,000 people and is building logistics capacity for 3,500 shops.

Why Choose the Franchise Greggs?

Franchising stays a deliberately limited part of the model, used in locations where the company would find it difficult to operate directly: motorway service stations, petrol forecourts and selected travel hubs. Greggs partners with businesses that specialise in running retail outlets in those settings, Moto Hospitality among the longest-standing. By June 2026, 627 shops were franchised, just over 20% of the estate, across 14 partners, with Motor Fuel Group alone running 147. Like-for-like system sales in franchised shops rose 4.3% to £325.6 million in 2025.

These agreements are not open to the general public or to small business investors. They are reserved for large organisations with the infrastructure to meet Greggs’ operating standards, and Greggs publishes no entry fee, investment figure or capital requirement. Keeping the majority of shops in company hands lets it hold uniform pricing and quality control and move quickly on product: the vegan sausage roll went across the whole estate in a single centrally managed rollout.