Artisanal breads cooling on wooden rack

Upmarket bakery chain Gail’s is planning to open 40 new stores in England over the next year as it targets more locations outside London after growing its yearly sales. The fast-growing chain said it wanted to continue expanding in areas across the country in the years ahead.

It opened 36 cafes over the past financial year, including the first locations in the south west of England, and the next 40 are set to be opened by the end of February 2026. Sales totalled £278 million in the year to the end of February 2025, up by about 20% compared with the prior year, recently filed accounts show.

But it revealed pre-tax losses widened to £7.8 million, from £7.4 million the year before, as it invested in new stores and therefore business expenses and staf

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