Shares in Britain’s favourite baker have surged more than 3 per cent after it announced plans to reopen around one third of its shops
Greggs (GRG) has closed Tuesday trading up 3.15 per cent at 1,766 pence, after it announced plans to reopen for business.
Britain’s favourite mass-market baker has been forced to close its doors since March after Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed a national lockdown, hoping to limit the spread of Covid-19.
In a statement the company, said: “We have planned and delivered robust shop trials using our new operational safety measures and they have progressed well allowing us to now move to open an increased number of our shops from mid-June.” As only 800 shops are set to open, two-thirds of Greggs outlets will remain closed, with their employees utilising the government’s furloughing scheme.
With this partial reopening, the largest bakery chain in the UK will hope to regain some of the momentum which drove its stock to an all-time high of 2,550.
The 81 year-old firm saw record gains in 2019 and the early part of 2020, helped by expanded vegan options, a new Christmas range and its increasingly cult status in British society.
For the past month, the baker has operated a 20-store reopening trial, hoping to work out the intricacies of the Government’s new safety guidelines.
Should June’s reopening prove successful, Greggs should be able to continue its march from being a local baker in Newcastle to becoming a FTSE 100 company.
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