Baked goods supplier Fatherson Bakery has gone into liquidation, citing rising costs and missed payments by a large retailer.
Posting on social media on 15 May, the business said that “after 15 years Fatherson Bakery has gone into liquidation today and has closed its oven doors for the last time”.
It went on to say: “On behalf of the team, we would like to thank our loyal customers for your support and patience over recent months.”
Fatherson Bakery has been in operation since 2007 and is stocked in Co-Op, Budgens, Nisa, Londis and Spar stores across the UK. It was taken over by former Unilever marketing chief Laurence Smith, his wife Megan and business partner Mark Lewis at the beginning of 2019.
In a statement provided to our sister title, British Baker, Fatherson Bakery offered the following update:
”With the huge ingredients, transportation cost and utilities rises and significant non payments over many months by a large scale retailer have led to circumstances where with great regret we have been forced into a voluntary liquidation process.
“We would like to thank all of our customers for their business over many years and our hard working staff for their support producing our wonderful products. We wish them all well for the future.”
The business produced a wide range of traditional sweet treats including whole cakes, traybakes, cupcakes, loaf cakes, and pies. It was also keen to tap into added-value occasions, with limited-edition seasonal ranges rolled out for Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day.
In 2020, it was awarded Bakery Manufacturing Company of the Year by our sister title, Food Manufacture, and in 2021 was a finalist in the Bakery Exporter of the Year category of the Baking Industry Awards. It was around this time that the business revealed ambitions to focus on The Middle East as a growth opportunity, building on progress made in Spain, Ireland, and the USA.
According to financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2021, posted to Companies House, the business had 100 employees.
Retailers affected by the announcement claimed there was no warning and the only notification was the social media post although there had been availability issues of late.
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