The McCambridge Group has announced it will be considering the sale of its own-label cake division.

The Blackburn-based firm, which is best known for its Soreen brand of malt and fruit loaves, said it had been approached by a number of third parties and, as a result, decided to consider potential buyers for the business.

A company spokesperson told British Baker the company was unable to name any of the third parties that have been interested in purchasing McCambridge’s own-label cake division, which produces a number of bakery goods, including celebration cakes, mini rolls, Bakewell tarts and muffins.

Simon Webber, chairman of the McCambridge Group, said: “Following a strategic review of the business, it was agreed that our cake division has great potential and requires capital investment to realise that potential. Following approaches from third parties, it was decided to consider a sale of the business.

“The cake division is growing both in sales and profitability, so is an attractive option for a new investor. Staff have been informed of the proposed sale and it is very much ‘business as usual’, with our bakeries delivering the same high levels of service and quality to customers.”

He added that, should the sale go ahead, employees at McCambridge’s own-label cake division, including 637 members of staff in the UK and 259 in Poland, will be transferred to the new owner and will continue to work as normal.

The firm operates a network of six UK bakeries and a seventh in Poland, employing around 1,100 members of staff in total throughout the group. McCambridge’s Soreen range is produced at a manufacturing site in Manchester, while its Irish bread division, McCambridge Ireland, is based in Dublin.

In the company’s annual report for the year ending 30 June 2011, the McCambridge Group delivered an ebitda of £8.5m and a turnover of £115.5m. The firm also revealed that the overall bought-in cake market declined 2% in terms of volume for the same 12-month period, at which point it was worth £1.1bn.

Back in January 2010, McCambridge said it would be closing two of its own-label division factories in a bid to streamline the business. This included Lisa Bakery in Oldham, which produces both Swiss and mini rolls, as well as William Lusty in Heywood, Lancashire, which manufactures slab cakes.

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