The appetite for Greggs’ sausage rolls and steak bakes shows no sign of slowing down after the bakery chain dethroned McDonald’s to become Britain’s most popular breakfast spot (The Times £). UK food-to-go retailer Greggs said it was on track to double sales by 2026 as the Newcastle-based group expects to open up to 160 new shops this year after adding 145 in 2023 (The Financial Times £) Greggs has said it is on track to double turnover under an ongoing five-year strategy after achieving its strongest-ever performance in 2023 (The Daily Mail). Greggs, the food-on-the-go chain, says cost pressures are reducing and it sees a clear opportunity for hundreds more UK shops ahead (Sky News).

Thousands of Greggs workers will share a £17.6m bonus pot this month after the bakery chain famous for its sausage rolls and steak bakes said it had made a record annual profit and overtaken McDonald’s to become the UK’s most popular breakfast spot (The Guardian). A typical Greggs worker will be handed a £700 bonus after it raked in bumper profits and said sales would double by 2026 (The Daily Mail).

“There are now more than 2,000 Greggs locations in the UK. An astonishing 220 of those opened just last year; some even extended their opening hours so they could serve vegan sausage rolls, steak bakes, bean and sausage melts — bakes are now synonymous with Greggs — to more people for longer.” (The Times £)

UK supermarkets sales growth slowed in February, reflecting a fall in food inflation, industry data shows. (The Daily Mail)

Marks & Spencer’s grocery sales are growing faster than Aldi and Lidl as a turnaround led by chief Stuart Machin gains traction (The Telegraph £). Food sales at Marks & Spencer are growing twice as fast as they are at Aldi (The Daily Mail).

EG Group is in talks to offload some UK assets to billionaire co-founder Zuber Issa in what the company told investors was an attempt to reduce the debt pile of its petrol-station empire. (The Financial Times £)

The chief executive of Marks & Spencer has described operating under the current government as “like running up a downwards escalator with a rucksack on your back” (Sky News).

Business leaders are making a last-ditch bid to persuade Jeremy Hunt to scrap the tourist tax in his Budget this week. (The Daily Mail)

As Jeremy Hunt prepares to deliver what could be his final budget as Chancellor this week, Britain’s pub industry remains in tremendous peril. Closures continue to blight the sector; about 3,000 pubs have shut in the past six years, including 509 in 2023, according to the British Beer & Pub Association. (The Daily Mail)

Tesco has become the latest supermarket to increase pay as retailers face up to the rising minimum wage and try to retain staff. (The BBC)

The chief executive of British American Tobacco has endorsed the UK’s plans for a vaping tax, claiming the cigarette maker has learned to “love regulation”. (The Financial Times £)

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