Bakery rescue deal saves 1,400 jobs
Sarah O’Toole and Jason Bell of Grant Thornton UK were appointed administrators of the £50m turnover business on Wednesday (18 December).
Sayers’ assets have been acquired by Karen Wood, who has formed a new company called Sayers and Poundbakery. This includes Sayers manufacturing and distribution centre in Bolton, as well as 167 Sayers, Poundbakery and Poundcafé stores across northern England, North Wales, Yorkshire and the Midlands – including the transfer of about 1,400 employees.
Former management team
The new business will be run by the former management team, led by Mark James (chief operating officer) and David Silvester (retail operations director).
The new company will take on the bakery and distribution centre in Bolton and most of the business’ shops. Sarah O’Toole, advisory partner at Grant Thornton UK, said: “We are delighted to have concluded the sale, which preserves a significant number of jobs at this long-established business.
“Unfortunately, a number of redundancies have been made across 11 closed stores at a particularly difficult time of year and we are doing everything we can to support these employees.”
Store closures
The company’s existing shops will continue to be branded as Sayers the Bakers and Poundbakery.
Sayers and Poundbakery’s management team added: “We’d like to wholeheartedly thank the loyal staff, suppliers and customers for their continued support, as we enter into the next stage of this historic brand’s future.”
Meanwhile, last month, Richmond-based cheese maker Swaledale Cheese was acquired from liquidators by a group of Yorkshire-based entrepreneurs.
Richard Darbishire, who is in charge of production, said: “Our intervention has saved this important UK cheese from extinction. We are confident that, by aligning our capabilities with the growing demand for our products and further developing the skills of our workforce, we will be able to restore the company to its rightful prominent place in the UK cheese sector.”
