Warburtons has entered its 150th year of business with a 33% jump in pre-tax profits to £42m.
A slew of new products and innovations to appeal to shopper demand for healthier products helped Warburtons grow volumes by 4.2%, translating to increased turnover and profits at Britain’s largest baker.
Fresh accounts filed to Companies House showed overall revenues grew 3.9% to £769.9m in the year to 27 September 2025.
A spokeswoman for the brand said amid a “highly competitive” wrapped bakery market, Warburtons had “remained focused on what matters most”: customer service and good value for consumers.
Warburtons has repeatedly outperformed competitors Hovis and Kingsmill in recent years, as consumers turned against traditional plant bread and towards specialty baked goods such as bagels, sandwich rolls and wraps – a trend that family owned business has done much to encourage.
Warburtons commercial director Colin Bebbington told The Grocer the company’s innovation pipeline had been key to its commercial success.
“Consumers have more food inspiration at their fingertips than ever before, and bakery needs to keep pace,” he said.
Recent launches include the brand’s Fibre Fix gut-friendly range, introduced in January 2026, and 2025’s debut of sourdough-lite loaves, crumpets and bagels under the Our Dough banner.
Warburtons invested £46.6m in its bakeries and distribution fleet over the latest financial year to help it maintain price competitiveness.
“Like many food manufacturers, we continue to face volatility in key input costs, including wheat, energy and foreign exchange,” the spokeswoman added.
“However, as a fifth-generation family business, we take a long-term view and remain committed to investing in our people, our operations and the quality of the products millions of households rely on every day.”
Since year end, Warburtons has ramped up investment. First, in October 2025, it acquired a specialty bread factory from the unravelling Roberts Bakery – the rest of which was snapped up by Boparan Private Office – as part of a wider £50m investment in gluten-free breads and specialty occasion items such as its sandwich thins and pittas.
And in April this year, the company swooped on the former Rathbones bakery, which had been part of Morrisons’ manufacturing arm Myton Food Group.
The site, Warburtons’ 13th, is expected to be operational by September 2026.
Separately, Warburtons’ veteran leadership team – CEO Jonathan Warburton, and his cousins and executive directors Brett and Ross Warburton – revealed in late May they would soon be stepping back to make way for the sixth generation of family leadership.
After more than 25 years at the helm, the three will hand over to Jonathan’s twin sons Harry and Jack, and Ross’ son Jimmy, who joined the board in January.
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