Greggs appoints North East consultancy to support regional growth strategy

A North East consultancy is supporting Greggs in the growth of its retail portfolio with the acquisition of four new sites which have launched in recent weeks.

Retail and leisure property specialist @retail has secured the new openings in Durham, Berwick, Washington and Horden, as part of its North East acquisition programme for the food-on-the-go chain.

Greggs has more than 2,200 sites across the UK and an ambition to add 150 new stores each year until 2026, where its next milestone is to have at least 3,000.

In County Durham, Greggs has opened a drive-thru café at Bowburn’s Integra 61 on the back of last year’s acquisition of the site by @retail. It follows on from the 2019 opening of Greggs’ first drive-thru in the North East at Sandy Lane in Newcastle.

This month Greggs has opened a new shop in Berwick, located at Loaning Meadows Retail Park on the northern outskirts of the town, where 12 new jobs have been created. @retail has also successfully secured new stores at Parsons Road in Washington and Cotsford Lane in Horden, near Peterlee, which have both launched this month.

Sarah Hart of @retail commented: “The four new additions to the Greggs portfolio here in the North East perfectly demonstrate the broad offer that is being created for their expanding customer base.

“With our support, Greggs is constantly reevaluating its location strategy, striving for each store to always be perfectly positioned and provide the experience that customers are looking for.

“We are actively looking for new stores on behalf of Greggs in retail parks, roadside locations, transport hubs and new drive-thru sites, to complement the more traditional high street positions.”

The drive-thru concept is a particular focus area for Greggs which has been accelerated by the pandemic. The brand has a portfolio of 15 drive-thrus across the UK and is hungry for many more. It is targeting sites of 1,800-2,000 sq ft for drive-thru locations, complete with EV chargers.

Ben Ferguson, regional property manager at Greggs, added: “We already have a strong presence in traditional towns and suburban locations, so we continue to focus on increasing our presence in competitive locations where people travel, work and access by car. Working with @retail supports us in our acquisition of these important sites.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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