Shares of Greggs, the Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer, rose about 5% after it said its sales rose 7.3% in the 13 weeks to September 29, 2018.

“Our drinks range and new focaccia-style pizzas proved popular over the summer months,” said Greggs.

“We continued to see growth at breakfast time, helped by the expansion of our great value deals and our wide selection of freshly-ground Fairtrade coffees.  

“As testament to the increased breadth of our product range, we were recognised at PETA’s 2018 Vegan Food Awards and were awarded the `Best Vegan Sandwich’ for our Mexican Bean Wrap.”

In its outlook, Greggs added: “Investment in our supply chain continues apace with the commissioning of new consolidated manufacturing platforms at our Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester sites progressing in the fourth quarter. 

“As part of our strategic investment in systems we will be implementing the human resource and estate management modules of our integrated SAP solution in the months ahead, with payroll due to follow in early 2019.

“We were pleased with our trading performance during a period that included a long spell of hot weather, which made sales patterns more difficult to predict. 

“This, and the resulting mix of sales led to a lower-than-normal trading margin in the first part of the quarter, offset by improved trading as we came into September. 

“Overall our expectations for the full year outturn remain unchanged.”