A NORTH Yorkshire bakery chain is building on its status as the third largest in the UK as it accelerates the rollout of new shops across the North of England following an £8.5 million investment.

Coopland & Son, which has its head bakery in Scarborough alongside sites in Durham and Hull, is set open 30 new shops over the next three years, and double its sandwich van fleet after receiving support from investment firm BGF.

Founded in 1885 the fourth-generation business has been led by managing director Paul Coopland since 1985. Cooplands has grown from a chain of five shops to more than 140, with 11 cafes and 28 sandwich vans. It employs more than 1,500 people and generates sales of close to £50 million.

Mr Coopland said: “Partnering with BGF marks an important step for the business. Cooplands is in great health and we’ve opened a number of new sites this year alone. The partnership with BGF allows us to accelerate that growth and benefit from being part of a bigger network.

“As a family business, we didn’t take the decision to bring on board an external investor lightly. We had a number of options but felt that BGF’s culture and long-term minority investment would provide us with flexibility and control as we continue to grow.”

rgestinthe UK The UK’s third largest bakery chain, Coopland & Son, has received an investment of £8.5m from BGF to accelerate the rollout of its shops across the north of England.

From its three bakeries in Scarborough, Durham and Hull, the company delivers traditionally-made, high-quality produce including breads, sandwiches, pies, pasties and cakes to more than 140 Cooplands shops, 11 cafes and 28 sandwich vans. Cooplands retail outlets are typically located in busy shopping parades and high-streets across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North East.

Founded in 1885,

Cooplands will use BGF’s investment to open 30 new shops in the next three years, improve and develop its production facilities and explore potential acquisition opportunities to build further scale. The business will also expand its growing sandwich van service, which delivers fresh food to industrial and business parks, doubling its fleet by 2020.

BGF’s funding into Cooplands follows a £3.5m investment into York-headquartered restaurant and deli chain, Filmore & Union, announced in August 2017.

BGF is the most active investor in small and mid-sized businesses in the UK. An established and independent company, it has £2.5bn to support a range of growing companies – early stage, growth stage and quoted – across every region and sector of the economy.

The investment into Cooplands, which makes BGF a minority partner in the business, was led by BGF’s Barry Jackson and Chris Boyes, based in Leeds.

BGF’s Barry Jackson said: “BGF’s approach means that we can listen to the plans and aspirations of the businesses we back, and create investment structures that work for them.

“Cooplands has been operating successfully for more than 125 years and is in excellent shape to pursue further growth. We are delighted to back Paul and his management team as they continue to add scale to the business’s operations.”

BCMS acted as corporate finance advisor to Cooplands and introduced the business to BGF, with legal advice from Freeths LLP.