Greggs PLC on Tuesday reported higher sales, citing ‘staycations’ as it bet on a new autumn menu and more vegan options for further growth.

The Newcastle-based food-to-go seller said total sales were up 15% for the 13 weeks to October 1, as it backed its full year expectations.

Greggs continued to expect around 150 net shop openings in 2022, and left its cost inflation outlook unchanged for the year at around 9%.

It said: ‘As expected, year-on-year growth moderated in August given the particularly strong ’staycation’ effect seen in 2021, however, momentum returned in September.

‘We closed our shops on September 19 for the funeral of Her Majesty The Queen and this impacted reported like-for-like sales growth for the third quarter by around one percentage point,’ the steak-bake seller noted.

It acknowledged ‘considerable’ economic uncertainty but expects full-year results to be in line with previous expectations.

Looking ahead, Greggs expects cost inflation for 2022 to remain at around 9% on a like-for-like level. ‘We also hold significant energy cover for the first quarter of 2023, with average costs expected to be below the level of the recently-announced price cap,’ the firm added.

The sausage roll seller said it will role out a new autumn menu and more vegan and hot food options.

Greggs shares were 10.6% higher at 1,905,51 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

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