Sales jumped by almost a quarter and EBITDA was up 6% in the latest financial results for Cornish Bakery, as its UK shop estate continued to grow.
In a Companies House filing for the 52 weeks ended 30 May 2024, the independent bakery chain posted turnover of £29.4m for a 24% improvement on the previous period. This marked the fourth successive year of revenue growth for Cornish Bakery, during which time it has nearly tripled its annual sales (FY21: £11.7m).
Gross profit margin was slightly better too, going from 71.7% to 71.9%, while EBITDA rose from £3.2m to £3.4m. However, with administrative costs increasing by 28%, profit for the financial period after tax fell from £1.1m in FY23 to £869k.
Estate expansion is driving growth of the retail business, which was founded by Steve Grocutt in 1994 in Cornwall. Having opened five new sites in FY23, Cornish Bakery added five more in its most recent financial year to reach a total of 61 stores.
Six more shops have been introduced since, including in Nottingham, Taunton, Winchester, Chelmsford, Milton Keynes by the end of 2024, and its latest one in Cirencester opened just a few weeks ago. A further five are said to be currently under offer with locations and opening dates to be confirmed.
In the director’s report, owner Grocutt said he believed the business is “well capitalised with a cash rich balance sheet and a platform that is set up for continued expansion”. While his statement on the FY23 results mentioned that Cornish Bakery would be pushing EBITDA towards £5m, Grocutt now reckons it is on course to exceed £5m.
To help guide accelerated growth of its retail footprint, the company announced the appointment of hospitality specialist Mat Finch as its first managing director last June – he officially joined the board on 8 January 2025.
Cornish Bakery also secured a new funding package of an undisclosed sum from Virgin Money last year to use in setting up new locations as well as revamping key existing stores. This ongoing investment programme has seen five prime tourist-location sites in Totnes, Swanage, Bude, Fowey, and Sidmouth receive full refurbishments and re-openings before Easter.
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