Greggs store wins battle to stay open after midnight

Greggs has won a legal battle to allow one of its branches in London to sell food until the early hours of the morning.

What a time to be alive.

The bakery chain applied for late-night trading at its Leicester Square outlet - initially hoping to be serving up steak bakes and sausage rolls 24-hours a day.

Westminster city council, the Metropolitan Police and Environmental Health had all objected against a 24-hour sales licence.

However, an agreement between Greggs and Westminster city council has now been reached, which will allow the bakery to remain open until 2am.

Last summer, a licence to operate between 11pm and 5am was turned down due to concerns it could become a ‘hotspot for late-night disturbances and antisocial behaviour’.

A spokesperson from the Met told the BBC that a 24-hour sales could ‘undermine the licensing objectives in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder’.

PA

The legal contest was set to continue across a three-day-hearing kicking off today (Tuesday 16 May), but it has since been cancelled due to an agreement being met.

Chief executive of Greggs Roisin Currie said it was called-off as discussions between Greggs and Westminster city council had ‘reached a good solution for both parties’.

She went on to say that Greggs would not be trading 24-hours a day but that it would be able to remain open ‘over the midnight cusp’.

Other food outlets in Leicester Square, such as McDonald’s, currently operate past midnight.

Earlier today, Greggs also revealed its sales surged by nearly a fifth over the year to date.

Sales grew by 17 percent over the start of the year compared with 2022, partly because the first few months of the previous year were impacted by the Omicron variant, the company said.

Medicimage Education / Alamy Stock Photo

The company also said that the options of hot and cold food items, as well as growing vegan offering, had helped to boost sales.

Currie told PA that customers were ‘loving the versatility’ of hot and cold options.

She added: “It’s all about offering that choice, so people can come in more frequently.

“They can come in time and time again and try lots of different things, as well as they favourites that they love.”

Greggs currently has more than 2,360 shops, and previously hinted it wants to reach more than 3,000 across the UK over time.

And the group is currently choosing a location to trial a 24-hour drive thru, Currie added.