Greggs calls for no ‘surprises’ in Budget as it raises prices this week

The boss of Greggs has urged the Government to avoid any “surprises” in the autumn Budget, as the bakery chain prepares to raise some of its prices this week.

Roisin Currie, the chief executive of Greggs, confirmed a set of price hikes taking place on its menu.

Its two-part breakfast deal, incorporating a roll and a drink, will rise from £2.95 to £3.15.

The three-part breakfast deal, which also includes a side such as a yoghurt pot or hash browns, will rise from £3.95 to £4.15, the boss said.

Furthermore, some of its baked goods, such as the empire biscuit, will go up by 5p.

Ms Currie said it “still offers exceptional value” with the deals and stressed that a number of other products “will be protected and will not move”.

Meanwhile, the chief executive said the retailer was hoping for a “balanced Budget” when Rachel Reeves sets out her tax and spending plans in November.

“I guess what’s not helpful is when it’s something that comes out that surprises us and that’s what happened with the national insurance last year – we weren’t expecting that and it came in very quickly,” she said.

“It’s quite hard to plan and manage a business when you have a £20 million hit that you hadn’t predicted or weren’t aware was coming.”

Greggs has said the higher rate of employer national insurance, as well as the rising minimum wage, has put pressure on its overall business costs.

Ms Currie added that she was hoping for measures that will “put money in the pocket of the consumer” as well as being given “reasonable notice” over any changes affecting businesses.

The retailer, which has 2,675 shops in the UK, recorded a 6.1% increase in sales over the third quarter of 2025, compared with the same period a year ago.

On a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new shop openings, sales growth across company-managed shops slowed to 1.5% year-on-year.

It also marks a slowdown from the 2.6% like-for-like growth recorded over the first half of the year.

Unusually hot weather held back sales in July as shoppers made the most of the sunny conditions, but trading got on the front foot again in August and September, Greggs told investors.

Its share price nonetheless jumped by about 7% on Wednesday following the update.

The bakery chain highlighted the expansion of its menu, including high-protein options such as egg pots and protein shakes, and seasonal items such as its pumpkin spice latte and toffee fudge muffin.

It has also continued to open new shops recently in Tesco and Sainsbury’s as part of a partnership with the supermarket chains, as well as relocating smaller shops to better locations.

Total openings on a net basis, which subtracts the number of closures, were 57 so far this year.

Greggs said it was now expecting 120 net new openings for the year as a whole, which would be slightly lower than its previous target.

The company told investors it was making “progress despite challenging market conditions”, which reflect weaker consumer confidence and rising inflation.

Ms Currie said that consumers tended to be “saving rather than spending and, where they are spending, they are spending wisely – so it’s a very savvy consumer out there”.

“With us being a great value proposition, then hopefully that means some of those customers will be swapping into Greggs to take advantage of that great value,” she added.