Greggs ended 2025 with 602 franchise shops in an estate of 2,739, just over a fifth of the total, and is targeting 120 net new shops in 2026. The bakery chain says it sees room to pass 3,000 UK shops over the long term, with franchise partners one of the routes into sites it does not already trade from.
Greggs reported turnover of £2.2 billion for 2025, up £137 million or 6.8%, while underlying profit fell 4%, from £195.3 million to £187.5 million. Of the 2,739 shops open on 27 December 2025, 2,137 were company-managed and 602 run by franchise partners. Franchise partners therefore run 22% of the estate. The 2026 target of 120 net openings follows a year in which the estate grew by 121 net sites. Greggs also reported £13 million of further cost efficiencies in 2025, more than 50 million pizza slices sold and three Bitesize shops open by the year end.
How the 2025 estate moved
During 2025, Greggs opened 207 shops, relocated 50 and closed 36, a net increase of 121. Company-managed like-for-like sales rose 2.4% over the year and 2.9% in the fourth quarter, with total sales growth of 7.4% in the quarter. The company published its full preliminary results on 3 March 2026. Chief executive Roisin Currie described the performance as resilient, and pointed to a strong pipeline of attractive opportunities for the year ahead.
Where franchise partners fit
In its 2025 results Greggs said shops run by franchise partners proved more resilient than the rest of the estate, because they are mainly on roadside sites. Its stated approach is to work with partners to reach customers beyond traditional locations, such as roadsides and grocery retailers. Greggs opened its 600th franchise shop in December 2025, against its 500th in December 2023. Franchise partners are businesses that already control a qualifying site, such as a forecourt, a supermarket, a transport hub, a hospital or a campus, an entry gate that rules out the first-time owner most bakery and pastry brands recruiting UK operators will consider.
Good to know: franchise counts date quickly
The franchise estate stood at 602 shops on 27 December 2025, just after the 600th opened. The count rose by about 100 in two years, so a figure quoted without a date goes out of step with the estate within months.
The long-term target and the debate around it
Greggs says there is a clear opportunity to pass 3,000 UK shops over the long term, about 260 more than at the end of 2025. At the 2025 net increase of 121 sites and the 2026 target of 120, closing that gap would take just over two years. Not every observer reads the pace as settled. Dan Lane, lead analyst at Robinhood UK, said it is unclear whether the expansion plans prove to be the strategy’s strength or the undoing of a British staple. The company’s own figures show the tension: turnover rose 6.8% in 2025 while underlying profit fell 4%. Operators looking for a brand that recruits without a site in hand can compare those taking on partners in the UK.
