Cooplands of Doncaster sold in pre-pack administration deal

Doncaster-based craft bakery business Cooplands has been saved in a pre-pack administration deal.

Alison’s Coffee Shops Limited (ACS) - which traded as Cooplands and operated from premises in Doncaster – entered administration last week.

On the same day, the business and certain assets of Alison’s Coffee Shops, including 29 retail units, were acquired by new company Cooplands Retail Limited. The 150 staff employed by ACS have been retained by Cooplands Retail Limited and the business is continuing to trade as Cooplands from the 29 outlets across Yorkshire.

Administrators Opus Restructuring LLP said it would have been a “tragedy” if such a well-known local business had failed after being a fixture in the region since 1885.

“We are pleased to see it survive and continue to serve its loyal customer base” added Opus partner Stephen Parker.

This is the second time Cooplands of Doncaster has been sold in a pre-pack administration deal. Just under two years ago, the business was acquired out of administration by corporate restructure specialists ReSolve. The sale secured 259 jobs, although 39 stores and the bakery and head office in Doncaster closed, resulting in the overall loss of 303 jobs.

A spokesman for Cooplands Retail Limited this week said: “We are pleased to be continuing the hard work that had gone on over the preceding two years to return Cooplands to its former glories.”

He added that a new product range was on sale and that an increasing percentage of products was made in-house at the original Cooplands bakery in Doncaster.

“Customers are returning and sales are increasing once more,” said the spokesman. “We are fiercely proud of Coopland’s Yorkshire roots and believe we offer a genuine and value alternative to the large national bakery chains and supermarkets.”

Cooplands of Doncaster should not be confused with Scarborough-based craft chain Coopland & Son, which has not gone into administration. The company trades as Cooplands Quality Bakers across East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North East, and is a completely separate company.