Greggs set for home deliveries

GREGGS is preparing to launch a home delivery service after a successful test run with Deliveroo and Uber Eats.

Chief executive Roger Whiteside said the bakery chain’s existing menu proved popular with customers ordering from home during trials in Newcastle and Manchester.

The company plans to expand the scheme, which could see its stores stay open later and offer more hot food popular with families who want evening meals delivered to their door.

Whiteside said the chain had introduced hot foods such as chicken goujons, soups, potato wedges and pastas already but would explore more options to boost the appeal of evening deliveries.

At the moment many Greggs branches close between 5pm and 7pm but he said this would also change to allow them to serve households late into the night.

The 60-year-old added: ‘We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the extent of demand.’

The 80-year-old business also celebrated hitting more than £1bn in sales for the first time during 2018, up 7.2pc on the previous year. And Greggs’ profits rose 15pc to £82.6m.