Bakery chain Cooplands is understood to be planning to close its Hull factory and a number of its shops.
The business, which operates almost 200 shops in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East, has told staff of plans to shut sites this summer following a review of the business.
News of the proposals comes around 18 months after the business was acquired by forecourt operator EG Group, which later announced plans to open 30 new Cooplands sites a year.
As a vertically integrated company, Cooplands currently operates three production sites in Scarborough, Durham, and Hull which make a range of baked goods and deliver them to its shops daily.
The Hull site and 34 shops were bought out of administration following the collapse of bakery business Skeltons in 2007. At the time, the deal almost doubled Cooplands’ estate to 77 shops, making it the UK’s fourth-largest bakery chain.
Should Cooplands close the Hull factory, it is expected production will transfer to the Scarborough and Durham sites where the businesses is understood to have additional capacity. According to local media reports, around 100 jobs would be impacted by the closure of the factory.
A spokesperson for Cooplands told British Baker that, following an in-depth review of the business, it has proposed changes to its retail and bakery operations to help better position the business for the long-term and sustainable growth.
“This has been done to ensure that our store estate and broader business are fully aligned with our ‘modern bakery food-to-go retailer’ strategy,” stated the company.
“As a result, we have entered into a consultation process with a number of colleagues. We appreciate that this may be unsettling for colleagues and our priority is to support them fully throughout this process.”
As of 1 January 2022, as shown in the 2022 Bakery Market Report, Cooplands operated 186 sites and employed just under 2,000 staff.
According to accounts filed at Companies House last month, revenue at the business was £68.1m in the year ended 31 March 2022, up 30% from £52.2m the previous year.
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