Warburtons plans for a bigger brand

WARBURTONS, Britain's biggest independent baker, is planning major expansion in the South in its most ambitious move yet to build a national brand.

The family-owned group is spending £30 million on a new bakery in Enfield, Middlesex, to serve the London market.

Founded as a grocer's shop in Bolton, Lancashire, in 1876, Warburtons has become the third-biggest baker in Britain, behind RHM-owned Hovis and ABF's Kingsmill, supplying major supermarkets with its own branded bread at premium prices.

It has been a successful formula. Pre-tax profits jumped from £23.1 million to £32.5 million for the year to last September on sales of £230 million, up from £203 million the previous year.

The bill for directors' pay was cut from £6.5 million to £1.2 million with the highest-paid executive taking home £379,000, a fall of £3.1 million on the previous year.

The Enfield site, due to open this year, will be Warburtons' twelfth.