Bayne’s The Family Bakers is set to spend £11m to extend its central production site in the Fife village of Lochore.
The significant investment from the 71-year-old bakery chain is aimed at providing increased capacity to support its ambition to add a further 69 shops, predominantly in high street locations, to its current retail estate of 71 sites across Scotland.
Planning consultants John Handley Associates shared with British Baker a Supporting Planning Statement it had created on behalf of SM Bayne, the family-run company behind the retail bakery brand. It gives details on the proposed extension of the Lochore site, known as Orwell Bakery, on Loanhead Avenue where Bayne’s also houses its headquarters.
The business is said to be currently finalising the purchase of an adjacent plot to the rear (north) of their existing facility from Fife Council. Roughly rectangular in shape, the site occupies an area of around 1.85 hectares of mostly undeveloped woodland which is unaffected by conservation or tree preservation orders.
The proposed extension includes the reconfiguration of an existing garage building to allow the bakery hall to be extended by 1,575 square metres (roughly 17,000 sq ft). It would also relocate the basket wash and the dispatch area, which is to be enlarged to 1,160sqm, whilst creating a new centralised 500sqm storeroom and van driver welfare facilities. The footprint of the new building would total around 4,825 sqm, exclusive of the repurposed garage.
A key consideration of the proposals is an approach towards improving efficiency and sustainability of bakery operations. This features the likes of a Sustainable Drainage System basin, replacement tree planting, a highly insulated building envelope, good day-lighting, natural ventilation, and additional PV solar panels. The business reported it had reduced in its carbon intensity ratio from 56.7 to 51.9 tonnes of CO2 per £m of turnover.
Bayne’s is noted to be a major employer in the area, with its workforce growing to 963 employees this year. It anticipates that around 15 new positions will be created in Lochore once the bakery extension is completed – a further 300 new job opportunities across Scotland are to arise from its latest estate expansion plans.
“Our plans represent a long-term investment in the future of Bayne’s as a family business,” commented joint managing director John Bayne. ”Over the next five to eight years, we intend to invest around £11 million in a way that is responsible, sustainable, and firmly focused on the long term.
“This is about growing carefully, reinvesting in our communities, and continuing to create local employment where Bayne’s has been part of the fabric of daily life for generations,” he added.
The company has opened five new shops since 2023 including most recently in Glasgow’s West End, joining six other outlets in the city. All of its retail sites are supplied from Orwell Bakery, which operates 24/7 and completed a freezer extension project in 2023.
The plan now is to introduce three or four more stores annually over the next 10 years, whilst continuing to invest in product innovation and digital transformation to meet evolving customer needs, such as improved online ordering. It unveiled its first mobile app for customers last September.
Bayne’s recently reported a record-breaking financial year with accounts filed on Companies House for the year ended 31 March 2025 showing a 15% year-on-year increase in turnover to £51.3m. Operating profit was up by 13% to £3.2m but tax on profit was more than £1m higher than the previous period as other expenses rose, leaving the firm with a post-tax profit of £2m (FY24: £3.1m).
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