FDBusiness.com

International bakery group Lantmannen Unibake has completed the takeover of UK’s leading supplier of sweet and savoury pastries and specialty breads, Bakehouse, by acquiring the remaining shares in the company. To further consolidate its position in the UK market, Lantmannen Unibake plans to make a major investment in new UK production capacity.

In May 2009, Lantmannen Unibake became the majority shareholder in Bakehouse. The acquisition continued Lantmannen Unibake’s massive investments in the UK, which is now the group’s biggest market.

Lantmannen Unibake expects to complete the purchase of the remaining shares in Bakehouse by July 2010. “When we purchased the majority holding in Bakehouse last May, the vision was to expand the ownership to 100% as a natural next step. Our companies are a perfect match, and the potential looks immensely promising. Bakehouse is an absolute world class expert in in-store bakeries and tailored solutions for the retail and food service business. We now have the ideal set-up for providing our customers with the best service in the market meaning the world’s largest assortment combined with sales and marketing concepts,” comments Bent Pultz Larsen, chief executive of Lantmannen Unibake.

New UK Bakery

Bent Pultz Larsen, chief executive of Lantmannen Unibake.

After firstly acquiring Eurobuns in 2008 and now Bakehouse, a natural next step in Lantmannen Unibake’s ambitious growth strategy is to set up new production capacity in the UK. “The UK is our biggest market, and the new bakery gives us a strong position with a complete production set-up. It will bring us even closer to our UK customers and put us in the best possible position to meet the growing demand we are experiencing in the UK,” says Bent Pultz Larsen.

When complete, the new bakery will house three state-of-the-art production lines. The exact location of the bakery is yet to be decided, but it is expected to be ready for operation by mid 2011.