Sunrise Bakery has been rescued in a pre-pack administration deal, saving all 23 jobs at the company.
A “sustained period of losses driven by rising operational costs” prompted Sunrise Bakery owner William Herman Ltd to appoint Opus Restructuring & Insolvency on 13 November.
A third party immediately bought the family-run West Indian bakery allowing it to keep trading, with no redundancies made.
William Herman had suffered serious losses over recent years, with net liabilities reaching £172k and £280k in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Opus director and joint administrator Mark Siddall said: “We are delighted to have secured the rescue of a business with such heritage, having traded in various forms since 1966.
“Safeguarding the jobs of the dedicated workforce and ensuring the bakery’s future was our absolute priority, and we are very pleased to have achieved that outcome.”
The family-owned bakery supplies West Indian baked goods, including hardo bread, Caribbean spiced buns and Jamaican fruit and ginger cakes. One of the oldest Caribbean bakeries in the UK, it has established itself as one of the largest suppliers in the category.
Founders Herman Drummond and William Lamont came to Britain as part of the Windrush generation, invited to help rebuild Britain after the war.
Finding their home in Smethwick, Birmingham, the pair found that racial discrimination made it hard to find the better life they had been promised. Unable to take out bank loans – which were often unavailable to immigrants from the Caribbean – they saved up to open Sunrise Bakery in 1966.
The company extended across the Midlands, London, and then across the UK, with entry into the major supermarkets achieved in the late 2000s.
Administrators will now support employees with any statutory claims, and undertake any remaining statutory duties such as selling residual assets or undertaking required investigations.
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