Market leading bakery Warburtons has acquired a speciality bread factory from Roberts Bakery, The Grocer can reveal.
A deal for the assets in Ilkeston in Derbyshire was struck by Roberts in the past week prior to the appointment of administrators at PwC and today’s other Roberts resuce deal done by Boparan Private Office.
Warburtons signage has already gone up at the factory following the transaction.
Last week, The Grocer revealed Warburtons was in talks over a potential deal as the accountancy firm prepared ground for an administration process.
Warburtons MD Mary-Ann Kilby confirmed the deal with The Grocer.
“To support the future growth of Warburtons, we have purchased the Roberts Bakery site in Ilkeston,” she said.
“This will provide us with further capacity to meet demand in a growing segment of the bakery market.
“We have enjoyed a positive relationship with the Roberts family for many years and wish them all the best for the future.”
It is not clear at this stage how many jobs the deal has saved, but the site will be fully operational under Warburtons, The Grocer understands.
Roberts took the decision to close its Derbyshire facility in September as part of ongoing restructuring. It entered a consultation process with 38 staff at the time. The move came after the group slashed 250 jobs from the Northwich production site in July.
Roberts manufactured speciality loaves, subs, sandwich thins, pittas and paninis at the Ilkeston factory.
Roberts Bakery seals rescue deal saving more than 400 jobs
News of the Warburtons transaction emerged following a rescue deal for the main Roberts sliced white bread factory in Northwich and the Winsford biscuits site – both based in Cheshire – concluded by Boparan Private Office today (15 October), which secured the jobs of 433 employees.
Roberts appointed PwC as administrator after struggling to recover from a devastating fire in 2023 that wiped out the majority of its volumes in Northwich. The business was owned and run by the fourth generation of the Roberts family and can trace its heritage back to 1887.
The group employed more than 750 staff and generated revenues of more than £100m at its peak before the fire.
Warburtons has defied the wider decline in the wrapped bread category and gained market share at the expense of rivals such as Roberts, Kingsmill and Hovis.
Revenues at Warburtons increased 4.2% to £741.1m in the year to 28 September 2024 as it continued to diversify its offering.
Kingsmill owner Associated British Foods responded to the challenge in bread by agreeing a merger with Hovis earlier this year.
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