Scullions Wholesale Bakery, a subsidiary of the McGhee Group, has bought fellow Scottish firm Fords Bakery out of administration, saving 87 jobs.

The East Lothian bakery faced severe cash flow problems and found it hard to cope with rising costs for raw materials, said administrators KPMG. As a result, 26 staff at the company were made redundant along with another 41 who worked at its stores.

Fords – which had an annual turnover of £5m – supplies supermarkets, foodservice companies and independent bakeries in East and Central Scotland with bread, cakes and confectionery.

As part of the sale, all of its remaining employees will transfer to Scullions, which will continue to service Fords’ existing direct delivery customers and supermarkets including more than 100 Co-operative stores.

Scullions Wholesale Bakery employs 220 staff at its site in Glasgow and said the sale would strenghten its presence in Scotland.

For the full story see the 2 July issue of British Baker.

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