Lottie

From left: Ian and Charlotte Shaw, founders of Lottie Shaw’s, with MD of Jacksons of Yorkshire Owen Elliott

William Jackson Food Group has acquired Yorkshire-based craft bakery Lottie Shaw’s to add to its Jacksons of Yorkshire bakery arm.

The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, “brings together two multi-generational Yorkshire family baking businesses”.

Sold online and via wholesalers, the Lottie Shaw’s range includes the company’s signature Yorkshire Parkin, with its premium products baked in a small craft bakery using family recipes.

Charlotte Shaw, who founded Lottie Shaw’s with her husband Ian, said: “We’ve developed an extensive range of seriously good treats and have enjoyed some great success stories with our brilliant team.

“We have invested significantly in the business over the years, and we’ve enjoyed watching it grow. We knew the business needed a bigger engine behind it to help it develop further, and it’s while we were considering this, that we were approached by Jacksons.

“We wouldn’t have sold our business to just anyone, we needed to find a home with a family which will care about our team and the products we make just as much as we do, and Jacksons felt like the perfect fit.

“Their values are very similar to our own and they have a culture of looking after people well.”

The founding pair will continue to work at Lottie Shaw’s, which employs around 30 colleagues in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, and will be run as a separate business.

Jacksons MD Owen Elliott said: “Ian and Charlotte have built an incredible business which we’re excited to be welcoming into the group. Jacksons and Lottie Shaw’s have so many things in common besides baking – both businesses have the magic that comes from being family-owned, our values and cultures are aligned, and I believe we complement each other perfectly.

“While becoming an extension of our bakery, Lottie Shaw’s will operate as a standalone business and will continue to trade as Lottie Shaw’s, rather than Jacksons. The new partnership will help us broaden Jacksons’ reach beyond sliced bread and provide Lottie Shaw’s with additional expertise and scale to help secure long-term future growth.”

William Jacksons Food Group, founded in Hull in 1851, owns a number of food businesses, including Abel & Cole, Belazu and Wellocks.