Jobs saved at Poundbakery stores following rescue deal

JOBS HAVE been saved at all 11 Poundbakery stores across Yorkshire as part of a rescue deal after its owner went into administration.

However, an unspecified number of redundancies have been made and 11 stores in the North West and North Wales have been earmarked for closure.

Sarah O’Toole and Jason Bell, of Grant Thornton UK, were appointed joint administrators to Sayers The Bakers Limited (Sayers) on Wednesday.

The £50m turnover business employed over 1,500 people across 167 Sayers, Poundbakery and Poundcafe stores and in its manufacturing and distribution centres located in Bolton.

The business assets have been acquired by Karen Wood, who has formed a new company called Sayers and Poundbakery, which will be run by the former management team led by Mark James and David Silvester.

The new company will take on the bakery and distribution centre in Bolton and the majority of the bakers shops throughout Northern England, North Wales, Yorkshire and the Midlands including the transfer of approximately 1,400 employees.

The majority of shops will continue to operate, however a small number will now close, it said. A spokesman added that none of the Poundbakery stores in Yorkshire would be affected.

In a statement, the administrators said: “Whilst all efforts have been made to offer ongoing employment to as many people as possible affected by these closures, and where possible they will be offered the opportunity to work in other nearby locations unaffected by closure, the transaction will result in a number of redundancies.”

Ms O’Toole added: “A number of redundancies have been made across 11 closed stores at a particularly difficult time of year and we are doing everything we can to support these employees.”