Greggs plc is the largest specialist retail bakery

Bakery

A bakery is an establishment which produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cakes, pastries and pies. Some retail bakeries are also cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises.-See also:*Baker*Cake...

 chain in the United Kingdom. It was established in the 1930s as a single shop but has approximately 1,500 outlets.
It is based in Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 and is listed on the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

 where it is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Greggs was founded by John Gregg

John Gregg (baker)

John Robson Gregg was the founder of Greggs, one of the United Kingdom's largest bakery busineseses.-Career:Brought up on Tyneside, Jack Gregg initially made a living visiting local houses selling yeast and eggs for customers to bake their own bread...

 as a Tyneside

Tyneside

Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...

 bakery in 1939. It opened its first shop in Gosforth

Gosforth

Gosforth is an area of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom, to the north of the city centre. Gosforth constituted an urban district from 1895 to 1974, when it became part of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of 23,620...

, Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 in 1951.

Major expansion began soon after it was taken over by his son, Ian, on John's death in 1964: this included the acquisitions of other bakeries such as Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 based Rutherglen in 1972, Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

 based Thurstons in 1974, Broomfields the Bakers, London, Bowketts the Bakers Kent, Tooks the Bakers (East Anglia) and Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

 based Price's in 1976.

In 1994, the company acquired the Bakers Oven

Bakers Oven

Bakers Oven was a bakery company based in the UK. The company is a division of Greggs PLC which is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange. They specialise in pasties and bread items and most stores sell drinks...

 chain of bakers' shops from Allied Bakeries.

In 1999, Greggs rebranded its 100 Braggs bakers shops as Greggs of the Midlands and its Leeds-based Thurston chain as Greggs of Yorkshire.

Starting in 2003, in an attempt to test the foreign market, Greggs opened a total of ten stores in Belgium; principally in Antwerp and Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

.