Gail's is seeking to grow to 200 stores over the next three years 

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Bread Holdings, the parent company of Gail’s Bakery, said a rise in wholesale revenues, a ‘diverse customer base’ alongside new openings contributed to strong financial results during 2018-19.

‘Retail growth has been delivered by a combination of new store openings and like-for-like growth within the estate. We continue to invest in our business with the opening of ten Gail's bakeries in the year to February 2019, with a similar number of new openings expected this year,’ the company said in a statement.

The solid results will be welcome news for investor Luke Johnson, who in 2011 backed a management buyout of Gail’s through his private equity firm, Risk Capital Partners. In November 2019 reports circulated that Johnson had appointed advisors to oversee the sale of the bakery and coffee chain in 2020.

Gail’s Managing Director, Marta Pogroszewska, has previously indicated the chain is seeking grow its store footprint from 53 stores to 200 over the next three years. However, demonstrating the sustained challenges faced by UK hospitality businesses currently, in November 2019 World Coffee Portal research recorded UK branded coffee shop outlet growth slowed significantly from 8.7% in 2018 to 0.9% in 2019 amid Brexit uncertainty and dampened consumer confidence.

Premium and artisan-focused propositions could, however, hold the key to further growth in the UK’s branded coffee shop market as consumers opt for experience-led hospitality concepts and elevated quality.
 

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