Profiles Martin, Business Development Manager
"I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor before I joined Greggs. My first job here was
as a Regional Property Manager. And for thirteen years you'd have seen me travelling
around, looking at potential sites for a new Greggs shop, inspecting the condition
of our shops, and handling lease renewals, rent reviews and all other
property-related management issues. And we've grown so much over that time!
Developing the business
"Now though, I've changed roles. As Business Development Manager, I find partners
we can work with; businesses and landlords that have sites we can set up a shop in,
and build relationships with them. It's a very different job. But I'm used to
looking for potential in sites, understand all the legal work that needs doing,
and I'm used to working with people outside Greggs.
Clocking up the miles
"There's a lot of travel in most management roles. The other week I drove from
Newcastle to Leicester for a two-hour meeting and came back the same day. And the
very next day, I was on a train to London and back. I look on the bright side of
it though – I see parts of the country that I wouldn't ordinarily get a chance to
visit. And I can say with all certainty that a Greggs Chicken Pesto Baguette tastes
great whichever part of the country you're in!"
"Everyone in the team gets along really well. We all swap ideas, tips, strategies
and information. Because of the sheer scale of our growth plans, there's pressure
to keep searching for more and more opportunities. You have to be really organised.
And the time management course I went on helped me with that."
"For all the testing bits of the job, I have to say that you can't beat the
excitement of seeing one of our sites trading well. We're not just increasing
profits – we're creating jobs."