Greggs PLC (LSE:GRG) has named former Tesco UK boss Matthew Davies as its chair designate, while also reporting slower like-for-like sales in the second quarter.
Interim results from the bakery group showed revenue 27% higher at £694.5mln but profit before tax was only marginally above flat at £55.8mln as the business was hit by significant cost inflation, the reintroduction of business rates and a VAT increase.
"Further small price increases" have been introduced, the FTSE 250 group said, which "appear not to have impacted transaction numbers".
Cost inflation in 2022 is expected to be around 9% but chief executive Roisin Currie, who was promoted from her previous role of retail and property director at the start of February, said expectations for the full year are unchanged, with LFL sales in the past four weeks up 13%.
With consumer incomes under pressure she said "Greggs offers exceptional value for customers looking for food and drink on-the-go".
Davies, who has previously been CEO of Pets at Home and Halfords, will join Currie on the board immediately as an independent non-executive director and take over as chair on November 1, 2022, when current incumbent, Ian Durant, steps down.
Currently an operating partner at private equity group Advent International and chair of private equity-owned retailer Hobbycraft, he has experience of being chairman at a listed company, having led the board at clothing retailer N Brown between 2018 and 2021.
"Greggs has undergone a transformation over the past decade and I am proud to have contributed to its achievements as chair. Greggs has entered a new era, now under Roisin Currie's leadership, and the business is in great shape with a clear strategy," said Ian Durant, chair of Greggs.
The shares were up 2.3% to 2,126.44p by mid-morning on Tuesday.