Warburtons is to acquire the former Rathbones bakery in the UK as part of a wider investment programme of more than £100m ($135.1m).
In a statement, the bakery group said it has agreed a deal with Myton Food Group, the manufacturing arm of retailer Morrisons, for the land, buildings and machinery at the closed site in Wakefield, northern England.
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The facility will become Warburtons’ 13th bakery.
The acquisition follows Morrisons’ closure of the loss-making Rathbones plant in January as part of a restructuring exercise.
Rathbones had been under review by Morrisons since late 2024.
Warburtons, which sells Toastie bread, bagels, and crumpets, plans to reopen the plant to make branded products. It did not disclose the purchasing price for the facility.
Jonathan Warburton, chairman of the group, said: “We are extremely pleased to have agreed a deal on the former Rathbones site and look forward to welcoming new colleagues to the business very soon.”
The family-owned business said the Wakefield site is expected to create more than 40 jobs across manufacturing, warehousing and distribution when it becomes operational in September.
Alongside the Wakefield deal, Warburtons is doubling the size of its gluten-free bakery in Newburn and adding a new distribution centre in Biggleswade.
The company is also installing three production lines across its existing network: a pancake line in Bolton and two crumpet lines in Burnley.
The Newburn redevelopment is due to be completed in the autumn.
“The new lines will support product innovation and enable Warburtons to meet the growing consumer demand,” Warburtons said.
The latest programme follows Warburtons’ purchase of the former Roberts Bakery site in Ilkeston.
The deal comes amid wider consolidation in the UK bakery sector.
Last month, the UK’s competition watchdog provisionally cleared Associated British Foods’ move to acquire bread rival Hovis.
In October, Roberts Bakery in Northwich was rescued by Ranjit Singh Boparan’s private-investment company.
