Leading bakery brand, Warburtons, announces major investment including the purchase of its 13th Bakery.
17th April 2026, Bolton UK: Britain’s biggest bakery brand, Warburtons, has announced it is investing over £100m in its 150th birthday year to set the business up for long term growth. The investments will be made in the acquisition of the former Rathbones bakery site in Wakefield, as well as investing in new distribution capacity, in doubling the size of the Gluten-Free facility, and in three new bakery production lines within its current estate.
The family business has finalised a deal with the Myton Food Group to acquire the land, buildings, and all machinery at the former Rathbones bakery site for an undisclosed sum and will invest in developing the currently closed site to produce Warburtons branded products. This new site, which will become the 13th in the Warburtons family of bakeries, has been bought to support the growing consumer demand for the brand’s high-quality bakery products and to support future innovation. Over 40 jobs, across manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, will initially be created once the site is fully operational, which is expected to be in September this year.
Chairman, Jonathan Warburton commented; “We’re extremely pleased to have agreed a deal on the former Rathbones site and look forward to welcoming new colleagues to the business very soon. Our family business takes a long-term approach, investing in our infrastructure to ensure we not only meet consumer needs today, but are set up to do so for the future.”
In addition to the investment in the new bakery in Wakefield, Warburtons is also investing in the development of a state-of-the-art gluten free bakery in Newburn. The site, which has been the sole producing site of Warburtons Gluten Free range since it began in 2011, continues to operate while undergoing major redevelopment. Built with innovation, sustainability and quality in mind, the new bakery will be fully operational in the autumn of this year.
To ensure it can get products to shelf as fresh as possible, Warburtons is also investing in a new distribution centre at Biggleswade which will support its wider bakery and depot network to deliver over 2m products to over 18,500 stores each day.
Demand for crumpets and pancakes is growing, and the family business has also invested in a new pancake line at its Bolton bakery, and two new crumpet lines at its bakery in Burnley. The new lines will support product innovation and enable Warburtons to meet the growing consumer demand.
This investment follows the purchase of the former Roberts Bakery site, in Ilkeston in 2025. The site is now fully operational and has been baking a range of Warburtons products since December 2025.
Warburtons currently employs over 5,000 people at its 12 bakeries and 18 depots across Great Britain. As Britains number one bakery brand, Warburtons, currently holds 20% market share, and produces over 70 different products from wrapped loaves to crumpets, pittas, rolls and bagels.
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