Greggs dwarfs its rivals on the high street, both in the takeaway and fast food sectors, according to M&C Report’s sister publication British Baker’s inaugural league table, the Top 50 Bakery Retailers 2007.
The magazine’s research shows that Greggs has more than five times as many shops as its nearest bakery rival, Lyndale Foods, the company, which owns the Sayers, Hampsons and Maison Blanc brands.
With 1,327 outlets in the UK and a further six in Belgium, it also has more shops than fast food chains McDonald’s and Burger King, and has nearly as many sites in the UK as Subway and Starbucks combined.
The new league table, which will be updated annually, gives
a full countdown of the number of shops operated by the big bakery and takeaway operators in the UK.
For example, it shows that Subway, Starbucks and Costa Coffee all have 500 or more stores and Caffè Nero, M&S Café Revive, BB’s Coffee & Muffins, Pret A Manger and SSP-owned Millie’s Cookies all have estates in triple figures.
The list also reveals that SSP, formerly owned by Compass,
has built up a substantial bakery business, with brands including Upper Crust, Millie’s Cookies, Caffè Ritazza and Ixxy’s Bagels.
With a total of 522 bakery-style stores, it is number four on the list, behind Subway, which now has 850 UK stores, and Starbucks, which has around 530 stores.
