2 Sisters Food Group is set to agree the sale of its bakery division, which includes Holland’s Pies and the Portumna pastry businesses.
Comprising Lancashire-based Holland’s and Irish pies and pastries business Portumna, the bakery operation supplies major retailers, foodservice operations and sports stadiums. The division employs 500 staff in the UK and Ireland.
Primarily a poultry business, 2 Sisters has been seeking a buyer for the bakery division for some time and has already offloaded a string of non-core operations.
In recent years it has sold Fox’s Biscuits to Italian confectionery firm Ferrero, the Matthew Walker Christmas puddings business to Valeo Foods Group and its Manton Wood sandwich business to Samworth Brothers. Most recently, it sold the Elkes Biscuits operation in Uttoxeter to Boparan.
In a statement issued this week, Holland’s Pies said: “We are currently progressing a sales process for our Holland’s Pies and Portumna pastry businesses with an interested party.
“We will be able to update fully once we have an outcome of the transaction process.”
Holland’s can trace its history back to 1851 when John Whittaker opened a confectionery shop in Haslingden and employed Richard Holland. In 1869, Holland married Whittaker’s daughter Sarah and they took over the family business and renamed it Holland’s.
The Holland’s bakery opened in Baxenden in 1929, and now produces more than a million pies a week on eight production lines. Seven of these make pies and pastries while one is dedicated to puddings.
The Portumna pastry operation, which is based in Co Galway, produces goods including individual pies, sharing pies, wellingtons, bakes, pastry slices, parcels and pasties, crumbles and quiches. It makes its own sausage meat and describes itself as the largest producer of sausage rolls across Ireland and the UK.
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