Review of the Year 2019: July to September

With 2020 fast approaching, we cast our eye over some of the bakery stories that have hit the headlines over the past 12 months.

July

Private equity firm Causeway Capital closed a further 14 Patisserie Valerie sites. Causeway had bought café chain Patisserie Valerie after it entered administration in January.
Warburtons announced plans to close its Newburn bread bakery in Newcastle. The company said it needed to make changes to its business as consumers continued to switch from bread to other wrapped baked goods, such as bagels, flatbread and crumpets. The Bolton business also reported it had made a £13.5m loss as a result of restructuring costs and falling bread sales.
Adelie Foods lost £55m despite a 10% rise in turnover. The food producer reported a 10% year-on-year increase in overall turnover to £248.5m and an 11% rise in sales of the business’ Urban Eat brand.
Addo Food Group revealed plans to close its Spalding bakery in Lincolnshire next year. It said the closure was needed to keep Addo profitable and would affect 405 employees. Production would transfer to Addo’s Poole and Palethorpes bakeries, it added.

August

A major fire broke out at the Village Bakery factory in Wrexham. The baked goods producer revealed that its staff were safe and well. At least eight fire-fighting vehicles from North Wales Fire & Rescue Service attended the blaze at the factory.
Allied Bakeries axed all bakery production at its Cardiff site. It said this would continue to be used as a distribution centre, but almost 180 staff would be made redundant.
Renshaw appointed food industry veteran Steve Moon as chief executive. Moon replaced Simon Mortimer, who left the Real Good Foods-owned business in June and has taken on responsibility for the cake decorations supplier and its Rainbow Dust colours brand.
Genesis Crafty launched a recruitment drive for 35 staff and invested £750,000 in the business after winning new contracts for all-year-round and Christmas products.
SSP said it might open further Paul Hollywood Knead outlets in partnership with Paul Hollywood despite the closure of its debut site. The first store opened at Euston station in 2017, but closed this year after worked started on the High Speed 2 (HS2) development at Euston.

September

The winners of the 2019 Baking Industry Awards were revealed in front of hundreds of guests at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Winners included Aidan Monks, who was named Baker of the Year, and Paul Heygate, who was awarded Outstanding Contribution to the Baking Industry.
The Apprentice winner Alana Spencer bought Lord Sugar out of her cake business, Ridiculously Rich by Alana. Spencer said working with Lord Sugar had been an “incredible experience” and that she had learnt a lot in a short space of time.
Caffè Nero launched a new menu named Deli Kitchen, featuring vegan and vegetarian options. The menu included sweet and savoury items and was unveiled in response to growing demand for more inspiring and relevant food options that could be enjoyed throughout the day, said the firm.
Coughlans Bakery announced it was seeking investment to help drive the development of the business. Sean Coughlan, who currently runs the family-owned firm, said he believed it was the right time to seek investment, so the business could grow, while developing more plant-based products.

Also see:

Review of the Year 2019: January to March