Greggs PLC has named Ben Waldron as its next chief financial officer, with long-serving finance chief Richard Hutton set to retire after 28 years with the bakery chain.
The bakery chain announced the succession on Wednesday morning, and shares fell sharply in early trading as markets digested the forthcoming change at the top.
Greggs (LSE:GRG) shares are trading at 1,540p on Wednesday, down 3.75% on the session, having opened at 1,579p after Tuesday’s close of 1,600p. The stock has traded as high as 1,842p and as low as around 1,412p over the past 52 weeks, putting the shares well below their yearly peak.
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Hutton to step down after 28 years
According to a regulatory announcement released via Investegate on Wednesday, Richard Hutton has told the Greggs board of his intention to retire and step down after 28 years with the company, including 20 years on the board. He will remain chief financial officer and executive director until 31 December 2026 to ensure an orderly handover.
Ben Waldron will join Greggs on 27 October 2026 as chief financial officer-designate and executive director, taking on the full CFO role from 1 January 2027. Waldron spent more than 14 years at Bakkavor Group plc, an international fresh prepared food business, where he held the roles of chief financial officer, group strategy director, and chief executive of both Bakkavor Asia and Bakkavor USA. Since leaving Bakkavor he has been based in Australia working across a portfolio of advisory roles. Before Bakkavor, he spent 12 years at Ernst & Young as an audit, advisory and transaction director.
Hutton’s departure comes after a difficult period for Greggs shares, which have fallen from a 52-week high of 1,842p in May. The company’s full-year results in March showed statutory pre-tax profit down 17.9% to £167.4 million for the year to December 27, even as total sales rose 6.8% to £2.15 billion, and it has since flagged rising cost inflation risk from the conflict in the Middle East.
Matt Davies, chair of Greggs, said: “On behalf of the board, I look forward to welcoming Ben to Greggs as chief financial officer. He will join the business at an exciting stage in its continued development. His strong financial and commercial expertise, together with his experience in senior operational leadership roles within an international food manufacturing business, will be an invaluable asset to Greggs.” Davies added that Hutton, who joined the board in 2006, “played a central role in the development of the business and supported a period of significant growth.” Chief executive Roisin Currie said Hutton “has been a trusted colleague” and that she was “looking forward to welcoming Ben to Greggs” as the company continues its “ambitious strategic plans.” Waldron himself said: “I am delighted to be joining Greggs, a great British brand with a strong culture and exciting opportunities for continued growth.”
Attention now turns to how smoothly the handover proceeds over the coming months, with Waldron due to start in late October and take full charge of the finance function at the start of 2027. Greggs’ next scheduled trading update will offer the first indication of whether the leadership change unsettles the operational momentum management has been trying to rebuild after a bruising year for the shares.