Boparan Private Office (BPO) has kicked off a recruitment drive for Roberts Bakery 1887.
It comes less than two months after BPO, owned by entrepreneur Ranjit Singh Boparan, bought the Frank Roberts & Son business in a pre-pack deal for £21.6m. The acquisition saw a new company created – Roberts Bakery 1887 Ltd – and saved 433 jobs across the Winsford and Northwich sites, although 86 roles were made redundant as part of the administration process.
Warburtons, meanwhile, snapped up the speciality bread factory in Ilkeston, Derbyshire for £2.1m.
Now, BPO is on the hunt for staff to help Roberts during the busy Christmas period. The firm said it is keen to fill the roles with candidates from the local community, including former employees.
There are several jobs listed on recruitment website Indeed for the Northwich and Winsford sites including bakery operative – bread, specifications technologist, site services engineer, junior food process technician/NPD – bread, and multiskilled shift engineer.
A spokesperson for BPO said the investment in Roberts Bakery demonstrated its “commitment to securing the long-term success of the business, and our workforce remains central to that ambition”.
“Our recovery plan saved many jobs, and the introduction of new business from our wider operations, combined with seasonal volumes, has now created the need to recruit additional colleagues,” the spokesperson added.
BPO highlighted that since taking over it has had to recruit key roles at the Northwich site as “many people understandably left the business during the uncertainty surrounding its future”. Prior to the appointment of PwC as administrators for the previous owners, several staff left to find more secure employment elsewhere, it added.
“As the new owners working to stabilise operations, we have replaced these critical positions to ensure continuity and to support the operational model required for immediate seasonal opportunities on the morning goods plant,” the spokesperson said.
Having faced criticism for recruiting so soon after the redundancies, BPO was keen to point out that these were carried out by the administrators acting on behalf of the previous company. “These new roles are entirely separate from the administrator’s process,” the BPO spokesperson said.
Former suppliers and employees of Frank Roberts & Son were left out of pocket after the business collapsed, with Companies House documents revealing who was owed what. Employees are owed £2.2m while the total owed to more than 300 suppliers was £15.5m. It’s anticipated that between 1% and 4% of money owed to unsecured creditors will be paid within a year.
Verity Trustees, which operates the company’s defined benefit pension scheme, is estimated to be indebted by £14.2m-£15.6m. It is expected this will paid within nine to 12 months, and it is anticipated to recover around 89.1%-98% of the sum.
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