Roberts Bakery is adding new jobs at its UK operations after receiving investment from billionaire owner Ranjit Singh Boparan.
A £500,000 ($664,677) investment from Boparan Private Office (BPO), the entrepreneur’s investment vehicle, will support a new production line at the Little Treats Bakery facility. The line will manufacture chocolate and “high-protein” clusters.
The project will broaden the Winsford site’s production capabilities beyond biscuits, helping it continue its recovery after the damaging fire that struck the facility in 2023. It is expected to create approximately 50 jobs.
Recruitment is already under way for roles spanning engineering, operations and production.
James Rostron, site director at Little Treats Bakery, said: “The Little Treats biscuit operation is already an impressive business, baking and decorating around 100 million biscuits a year. Adding chocolate and protein clusters gives us another platform for growth and opens up opportunities with new products, customers and markets.”
BPO acquired Roberts Bakery last year after Boparan helped the business avoid administration.
The investment vehicle also supported Boparan’s acquisition of Welsh bakery business Brace’s Bakery in June.
Boparan is also the owner of poultry processor 2 Sisters Food Group. In February, the company strengthened its European presence by acquiring German rival Heidemark. The turkey and chicken processor, which is based in Ahlhorn, Lower Saxony, has been incorporated into BPO-owned Storteboom Food Group.
Earlier this month, 2 Sisters outlined a £100m investment programme for Bernard Matthews. Its primary processing site in Halesworth, Suffolk, is set to be the “forefront of the investment”.
The latest capital spending comes as other parts of Boparan’s food and beverage portfolio face workforce reductions.
In August, 2 Sisters announced potential job losses during a restructuring at its ready-meals plant in Rogerstone, Newport. A spokesperson for the poultry supplier told Just Food at the time that the changes would affect “around 5% of the workforce,” equivalent to 80 redundancies.
