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Warburtons

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Warburtons Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryBaking
Founded1876 (148 years ago) (1876)
FounderThomas Warburton
HeadquartersBolton, Greater Manchester, England
Key people
Jonathan Warburton (Chairman)
ProductsBread and other bakery goods
Revenue£574.4 million
Owner
  • Jonathan Warburton
  • Brett Warburton
  • Ross Warburton
Number of employees
Over 5000[1][2]
ParentWarburtons Holdings Limited[3]
Websitewarburtons.co.uk

Warburtons Limited[4] is a British baking firm founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 and based in Bolton, a town formerly in Lancashire, England, and now in Greater Manchester. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and it remains a family-owned company. As of 2018, Warburtons has 12 bakeries, 14 depots, and 4,500 employees around the UK.[5]

The company embarked on a large expansion programme in the late 1990s which continued in the 2000s and it has grown across the United Kingdom after being relatively unheard of outside the North West.[6] By 2010, it had a 24% share of the UK bread market compared with 2% when it was based solely in Bolton.[7] In 2008, Warburtons was the most popular bread in Lancashire with a 45% market share compared with just 15% in London.[8]

In 2012, the Warburtons brand was the most popular bread in the United Kingdom, ahead of rivals Kingsmill and Hovis, a position it claimed in 2008.[9] Up to 2010, Warburtons products were the second-best selling food and drink brand in the UK after Coca-Cola[7] and ahead of brands such as Cadbury's, Barr's, and Walker's.[10]

The company donated £25,000 to the Conservative Party in 2010, and staged one of David Cameron's speeches at its Bolton headquarters.[11][12] In a 2016 interview with Campaign, chairman Jonathan Warburton said that Brexit was "a very good thing to have happened", and called the European Union a "rotting corpse".[13][14]

History

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Founding years

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Ellen and Thomas Warburton bought a small grocery shop in Bolton in 1876. The business grew and Thomas' nephew Henry joined the business when he was 16 and became a skilled baker by the age of 25. Henry continued to expand the business and the location of the bakery was moved four times in 25 years finishing with the opening of Back o'th' Bank Bakery opened by Rachael Warburton in July 1915. Henry became involved in local affairs within the community and stood as a Liberal candidate. He became mayor of Bolton. Henry Warburton died in 1936.

Warburtons grew with the purchase of several smaller companies in North West England.

Expansion

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Production of bread was based solely in Bolton for much of the company's history. Because of this, during transport the bread lost its freshness by the time it arrived anywhere outside the North West of England. With demand increasing from national retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's,[15] in the late 1990s the company embarked on an expansion programme and opened new plants at Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, Bellshill and Wednesbury. Warburtons moved into Scotland in 1996 and by 2003 the company had a 32% share of the Scottish bread market.[16]

National brand

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In October 2003, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh opened Warburtons' eleventh bakery in Enfield, North London. In 2004, Warburtons increased production in Scotland with the completion of Bellshill, phase two. Rathbones Bakeries, based in Walsall, went into administration in April 2005, and Warburtons bought a bakery at Stockton-on-Tees just off the A66 near Preston-on-Tees in January 2005, and another bakery at Rogerstone near the A467 at Newport in November 2005. A £60m 12-acre (49,000 m2) super bakery in Normanton, West Yorkshire opened in March 2006, claiming to be the largest bakery in Europe.[citation needed] Other bakeries outside of the Lancashire area are in Newburn for Newcastle upon Tyne next to the A6085 and River Tyne.

In 2010, the company announced the closure of its Newport facility, but retained a distribution depot at Port Talbot to continue service to the South Wales market. Production was transferred to a new plant in Bristol. The lease on the Newport plant was ceded to Brace's Bakery.[17]

In 2013, the Daily Mirror named Warburtons as Britain's best loved shopping brand ahead of Coca-Cola, Heinz, and Cadbury.[18][better source needed]

In 2015, Warburtons announced the use of Sylvester Stallone in its marketing campaign, with Stallone re-enacting parts he had played previously.[19] Another advert involves The Muppets singing about the new brand of giant crumpets, in a style almost identical to the opening theme of The Muppet Show, whilst the advert with Peter Kay plays on the Bolton connection.[citation needed]

In May 2019, Robert De Niro appeared in an advert for Warburtons bagels.[20] In 2021, George Clooney appeared in a TV advert alongside Jonathan Warburton.[21] In 2023, Samuel L. Jackson portrayed Warburton in an advert for the Warburtons Toastie loaf.[22][23]

In March 2020, Warburtons was criticised by some smaller independent retailers for prioritising delivieries to larger supermarkets as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] In response to the UK Government's measures against COVID-19, Warburton said: "It went too far... people have been hugely fearful, unnecessarily".[25]

In January 2023, Waitrose said it had stopped stocking Warburtons products the previous year amid a commercial dispute, "after their performance didn’t meet our expectations."[26]

Products

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Warburtons makes five categories of products: Bread, Rolls, Bakery Snacks (including crumpets and potato cakes), Gluten Free and Weight Watchers.

Warburtons' staple products include the orange wrappered Toastie loaf, the blue wrappered Medium loaf and the green wrappered Thickest loaf, all of which are wrapped in wax paper.

References

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  1. ^ "Warburtons announces expansion into Kent". Warburtons. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Our People". Warburtons. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Warburtons Limited persons with significant control - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Warburtons Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 29 December 1921. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  5. ^ Grant, Jeremy. "CEO succession planning in a family business". strategy+business. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. ^ "A family firm that blows its own trumpet". BBC News. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  7. ^ a b Teather, Daniel (8 April 2010). "Family values hold key to the rise and rise of Warburtons". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Warburtons launches battle of the bakers with £22m campaign". The Times. 6 October 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Coke Still Fizzing As Smoothies Rocket". Sky News. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  10. ^ Wallop, Harry (22 February 2007). "Warburtons now second biggest UK brand". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  11. ^ Warnes, Sophie; Sommerlad, Nick (25 March 2015). "Buy these 11 things and you are unwittingly funding the Tories". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Bread rolls in for David Cameron with £25,000 from Warburtons". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Ties that bind: How business dynasties create brand opportunities". Campaign Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Warburtons boss toasted over 2016 comments about 'rotting' EU – here's why". www.indy100.com. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  15. ^ Barry, Chris (6 December 2002). "Warburtons in £30m south east expansion". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Bakery toasts expansion plan". BBC News. 27 October 2003. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  17. ^ "Brace's Confirms Purchase of Warburtons' Site At Rogerstone, Newport". Brace's Bakery. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  18. ^ Sayid, Ruki (2 May 2013). "Warburtons named Britain's best loved shopping brand ahead of Coca-Cola, Heinz and Cadbury". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  19. ^ Emma Flanagan (13 April 2015). "Watch Sylvester Stallone star in new Warburtons advert 'The Deliverers' filmed in Bolton". Manchester Evening News.
  20. ^ Jardine, Alexandra (14 May 2019). "Robert de Niro plays a mafioso bagel boss in this U.K. spot for Warburtons". adage.com. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  21. ^ Heritage, Stuart (7 May 2021). "Toast of the town: why George Clooney's Warburtons ad is the best thing since sliced bread". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  22. ^ Steafel, Eleanor (21 September 2023). "Why do Hollywood stars keep advertising Warburtons?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Samuel L. Jackson travels to Bolton for new Warburtons advert". ITV News. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  24. ^ Courtez, Jack (26 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Warburtons cuts small shops deliveries". Better Retailing. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  25. ^ Haslett, Emma (23 February 2022). "Bagels, Brexit and Bob De Niro: Jonathan Warburton on the business of bread". New Statesman. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  26. ^ Gill, Oliver (7 January 2023). "Waitrose ditches Warburtons products in row over crumpets". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.

Further reading

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