Gail’s parent company Grain Topco has reported revenue of £181.8m in its latest financial year.
The company, which also operates The Bread Factory and Bertinet Bakery wholesale businesses, reported that Gail’s continued to be the faster growing and more profitable part of the group in the financial year ended 28 February 2023.
Gail’s accounted for £135.3m of Grain Topco revenue in the year, compared to the £45.5m reported for the five months to 28 February 2022 (Grain Topco was incorporated in August 2021).
The business opened 28 new Gail’s sites in the period including its first outside the southeast of England, in Manchester, and plans to open a similar number in its current financial year across a widening geographic area.
It warned, however, that the retail bakery market remained competitive: “The group recognises that to be able to grow it must continue to provide innovative world-class food in attractive neighbourhood bakeries.”
Grain Topco stated it had leveraged the use of existing ranges and brand names to establish revenue streams in several major UK supermarkets.
In April this year, the business announced that it was extending its partnership with Waitrose by opening Gail’s branded fixtures in 64 of the retailer’s stores.
Grain Topco invested in its production capabilities over the year by opening a production bakery in Milton Keynes. It also increased its number of employees from 2,256 to 2,742.
The group reported that the wholesale side of its business was continuing to grow thanks to the success of brands produced and sold through several UK supermarket chains.
But, as with retail, it warned the market remained competitive: “Growth can only be achieved by continuing to offer existing customers the highest levels of service and quality at competitive prices, while attracting new customers with an unparalleled quality of ingredients and products.”
The group made a £15m loss over the year as margins were hit by cost pressures, with supply chain disruption pushing up the price of core ingredients such as butter, flour and sugar.
Grain Topco reported that prices had fallen in the first five months of the new financial year, leading to optimism that costs will continue to fall and stabilise.
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