Greggs’ sales in the Christmas week were up 6.5% and like-for-like sales grew 4.4%, as the high-street bakery chain served around a quarter of million customers more than in the comparable week last year.

The firm also saw a 3.1% rise in total sales for the four weeks to 26 December 2009.

Greggs sold more than one million mince pies a week over the festive period, up 6% on last year, which it said was helped by the launch of its new Viennese mince pie.

Demand for savouries was also strong, with like-for-like sales up 10% and sales of its Christmas festive bakes up 23% on 2008 figures.

Chief executive Ken McMeikan said he very pleased with Greggs performance, “particularly over Christmas”.

“We remain positive about our growth opportunities as we begin our programme of accelerated expansion to make the unique Greggs proposition accessible to many more consumers throughout the UK,” he added.

The company expects to add 50 - 60 shops to its portfolio this year.