Cooplands of Doncaster has reportedly gone into administration – and staff have been warned that jobs are now at risk.
The bakery chain employs 550 staff across its 88 Yorkshire branches, as well as a further 200 at its Doncaster head office in Wharf Road.
Cooplands produces fresh bread, sandwiches, savouries and confectionery every day for the retail stores, Bap Vans and for some wholesale customers. The company was founded in 1932.
The company is now being run by ReSolve, a London-based corporate restructuring specialist, according to the Sheffield Star.
British Baker contacted the company this morning and a spokesperson, who would not give their name, said the company was now in “consultation” and had been told that more information would be provided at the end of the week.
He added: “They have just said there will be job losses across the whole estate, but they haven’t made any specifics in departments or areas.
“I’ve been told it will probably affect over 100 people, I get the impression it won’t be everyone, but it will definitely have a big impact.
“The shareholders have been keeping everything to themselves, and have said they will inform us when they are ready to tell us what is happening.
It’s quite concerning for most of us, but in general the atmosphere here is better than you would expect.
“It’s not very good for Doncaster at all – we’ve already lost 200 jobs at Tesco, so it’s bad news. Plus, business has not really picked up around here anyway; hence we are in the situation we are in.”
British Baker has also contacted ReSolve and is awaiting a response.
Last week, the Sheffield Star claimed staff at the bakery chain had received a letter saying the company lost money last year and has continued to see a decline in sales.
The letter said: “We have all worked hard over the last 12 months to try and stem the losses, but unfortunately everybody’s efforts have been in vain.
“Unfortunately the result of this is that the business cannot sustain its current cost base and this has an impact on the number of employees that we can employ in the foreseeable future.
“Regrettably we now therefore have to consider the loss of job roles across all areas of the business.”
By Bronya Smolen
