Heritage
Founded as a family bakery business on Tyneside in the 1930s, Greggs has been baking for over 70 years. We have an impressive history of growth from just one shop to over 1,400 across the UK.
The business began in the late 1930s when John Gregg delivered yeast, eggs and confectionary on his bicycle. The first small shop, with a bakery at the rear, opened in 1951.
Following the death of John in 1964, his son Ian Gregg took over the family business, which by then had added seven delivery vans to the shop and bakery. Under Ian's leadership, the first regional bakery was built in Newcastle and by the 1970s Greggs had expanded into Scotland, Yorkshire and the North West.
In 1983, Michael Darrington took over from Ian Gregg as Managing Director and by 1984, with 261 Greggs shops across 4 divisions, the business was floated on the Stock Exchange. The rest of the decade saw expansion into the Midlands, Wales and North London.
In 1987, Ian Gregg launched the Greggs Trust (now the Greggs Foundation), a registered charity to help support the communities in which Greggs operates.
The 1990s saw further expansion into Cumbria as well as a new, state of the art savoury production centre at Balliol Park in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Sir Michael Darrington's successor as Chief Executive, Kennedy McMeikan, took over in 2008. Greggs now boasts 1,400 shops, 10 regional bakeries, the savoury production centre, 2 distribution centres and 375 delivery vehicles. The home of fresh baking continues to go from strength to strength.