BAKERY chain Greggs has given a £20 million windfall for shareholders after its freshly made sandwiches and £2 breakfasts boosted trading.
The firm, which runs 1,650 shops, including more than 150 stores in Bradford and West Yorkshire, said its like-for-like sales lifted 5.9 per cent in the 16 weeks to April 25, with its upgraded range of healthy options under 400 calories proving popular.
The retailer will return £20 million to investors through a 20p a share special dividend after carrying out a capital review of its business. This replaces a proposed £10 million share buyback programme the firm announced at its full-year results in March.
Greggs said the year had started strongly, supported by rising disposable incomes and low inflation costs from suppliers.
It now expects its first half performance to be ahead of previous forecasts, and overall predicts good growth for the year.
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