Roberts Bakery collapsed owing creditors almost £40m, with suppliers set to lose out significant sums despite a rescue deal by Boparan Private Office (BPO). A new report lifting the lid on the administration of the historic bakery also revealed how much the BPO and Warburtons paid for the business and its assets.
As The Grocer revealed last week, the private investment firm of 2 Sisters owner Ranjit Singh Boparan struck a dramatic last-minute deal to buy the Roberts headquarters, bread factory and the biscuits facility in Cheshire, saving 433 jobs in the process.
Warburtons also purchased the specialty bread factory in Derbyshire prior to Roberts falling into administration, also revealed by The Grocer last week.
Trade suppliers left out of pocket
A new report into the collapse by administrators at PwC revealed today that unsecured creditors are owed almost £18m by Roberts. The total is made up of more than 300 trade suppliers, currently out of pocket to the tune of £15.5m, with employees also owed £2.2m.
PwC expected a partial repayment of between 1% and 4% of money owed for unsecured creditors within a year.
Wells Fargo, Roberts’ main lender, has already been repaid the £4.6m it was owed as a secured creditor from the sale proceeds.
HMRC is also likely to be repaid the £1.5m owed in full.
A pension deficit for the company’s defined benefit scheme, estimated to be between £14.2m and £15.6m, is not expected to be made whole.
PwC’s report also revealed BPO agreed to pay £21.6m in a pre-pack deal for the business and assets of Roberts. BPO has paid £10.8m up front, with the balance to be paid within nine months.
The Roberts name, business rights, customer contracts, goodwill, IT systems, leasehold property, supplier contracts and vehicle fleet were all sold for £1 each, while the book debts (which had a value of £7.3m) were bought for £3m. The IP had a £1.5m purchase price and the stock was picked up for £400k.
The plant and machinery in the factories (worth more than £20m on an operating basis) brought in £4.3m and the freehold property was purchased for £12.4m.
Warburtons acquired the Ilkeston factory for £2.1m on 29 September outside of the administration process, according to the report. The sale resulted in 37 redundancies. While the report stated there was an intention to pay the employees affected in October, a story in the Northwich Guardian claimed workers at Ilkeston had been told there was no money for wages or redundancy payments.
Roberts employed 519 staff at the two factories in Northwich and Winsford when PwC were appointed as administrator on 14 October.
More than 400 were transferred across to the new company set up by BPO in the pre-pack deal, but 86 were made redundant and will now rely on the government’s redundancy payments service for any statutory payout.
The challenges faced by Roberts
Roberts struggled with several challenges in the year leading up to its collapse, most notably a fire at the main bread factory in June 2023.
The operational challenges of the fire, coupled with falling demand in traditional sliced bread and rising commodity and energy costs, were compounded by the burden of the pension deficit contributions, placing significant strain on cashflow, the PwC report added.
Roberts had ploughed more than £40m in capex into its infrastructure over the past two years, primarily due to the major rebuild following the extensive fire in Northwich, with the company receiving around £20m in an insurance payout.
Revenues at the business slipped to £72m in the 12 months to July 2025, down from £76m in the prior year and more than £100m at its peak.
What next for rescued Roberts Bakery following Boparan deal?
Roberts launched a turnaround plan earlier this year aimed at restoring profitability. The plan included making 250 staff redundant at the Northwich site and the closure and sale of the specialty plant in Ilkeston, as well as hopes of securing fresh funding.
Following a 45-day consultation period, almost 90 employees were selected for redundancy and were expected to work notices ending between September and December. These were the workers immediately made redundant by PwC when appointed as administrator.
Wells Fargo engaged PwC in July to review the restructuring plan and advise on options.
PwC decided the company did not have enough cash to make a success of the turnaround and began an accelerated sales process on 1 September.
The PwC report said the Roberts directors decided administration was the only option by 22 September.
Several offers were received for the biscuit division as a going concern, but there was no interest in the bread factory, which was expected to wind down.
A sale of biscuits to an unnamed buyer was close to completion during the week of 29 September, but was paused when a last-minute offer came in from BPO for the business and assets of the company as a whole on 2 October.
The Northwich factory makes branded and private-label loaves, morning goods and specialty breads, with capacity for 2.1 million loaves and 1.8 million morning goods a week. The biscuits site specialises in decorated biscuits and gingerbread kits.
A deal with BPO was concluded on 14 October.
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