Warburtons
Encyclopedia
Warburtons is a British baking
firm based founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 in Bolton
, then in Lancashire
, now in Greater Manchester
, England. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and it remains a family-owned company.
The company embarked on a large expansion program in the late 1990s which continued in the 2000s and it has grown across the United Kingdom after being relatively unheard of outside the Bolton and Manchester area. The company has a 24% share of the UK bread market compared with 2% when it was based in Bolton. Warburtons is the most popular bread in Lancashire with a 45% market share compared with a 15% share in London.
The Warburtons brand is the most popular bread in the United Kingdom, ahead of rivals Kingsmill and Hovis
, a position it has held since 2008. Overall, Warburtons products are the second-best selling food and drink brand the UK after Coca Cola and ahead of famous British brands such as Cadburys and Walkers
.
candidate. He became mayor of Bolton. Henry Warburton died in 1936.
Warburtons grew with the purchase of several smaller companies in North west England
.
for much of the company's history after it was founded by Thomas Warburton. Bread made in Bolton meant by the time it was transported to locations in southern England the bread would have lost its freshness. Demand increased from national retailers such as Tesco
, Asda
and Sainsburys. 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. just seven years after entering the Scottish market.
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 acres (48,562.3 m²) super bakery in Normanton
, West Yorkshire
opened in March 2006, the largest bakery in Europe. Other bakeries outside of the Lancashire area are in Newburn
for Newcastle-upon-Tyne next to the A6085 and River Tyne
.
Due to over-expansion, among reductions in production in 2010, the company announced the closure of its Newport facility and a virtual-withdrawal from the South Wales
market by consolidating to an existing plant in Bristol
. The lease on the Newport plant was ceded to Brace's Bakery.
.
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
firm based founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, then in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, now in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, England. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and it remains a family-owned company.
The company embarked on a large expansion program in the late 1990s which continued in the 2000s and it has grown across the United Kingdom after being relatively unheard of outside the Bolton and Manchester area. The company has a 24% share of the UK bread market compared with 2% when it was based in Bolton. Warburtons is the most popular bread in Lancashire with a 45% market share compared with a 15% share in London.
The Warburtons brand is the most popular bread in the United Kingdom, ahead of rivals Kingsmill and Hovis
Hovis
Hovis is a UK brand of flour and bread, owned by Premier Foods. The brand, which began in 1886, ended up as part of Rank Hovis McDougall in 1962 after a succession of mergers. RHM, whose bread making division has been known as British Bakeries since 1955, also owns the Mother's Pride and Nimble...
, a position it has held since 2008. Overall, Warburtons products are the second-best selling food and drink brand the UK after Coca Cola and ahead of famous British brands such as Cadburys and Walkers
Walkers (snack foods)
Walkers is a British snack food manufacturer operating mainly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and to a lesser extent on the European continent. They are best known for manufacturing crisps. They hold 47 per cent of the British crisp market...
.
Founding years
Ellen and Thomas Warburton bought a small grocery shop in Bolton in 1876. The business grew and Thomas's nephew Henry joined the business when he was 16 and became a skilled baker by the age of 25. New technology drove the business forward and Henry continued to expand the business. 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 LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
candidate. He became mayor of Bolton. Henry Warburton died in 1936.
Warburtons grew with the purchase of several smaller companies in North west England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
.
Expansion
Production of bread was based in BoltonBolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
for much of the company's history after it was founded by Thomas Warburton. Bread made in Bolton meant by the time it was transported to locations in southern England the bread would have lost its freshness. Demand increased from national retailers such as Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
and Sainsburys. In the late 1990s the company embarked on an expansion programme and opened new plants at Eastwood
Eastwood, Nottinghamshire
Eastwood is a former coal mining town in the Broxtowe district of Nottinghamshire, England. With a population of over 18,000, it is northwest of Nottingham, and northeast of Derby, on the border between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Mentioned in Domesday Book, it expanded rapidly during the...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, Bellshill
Bellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
and Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
. Warburtons moved into Scotland in 1996 and by 2003 the company had a 32% share of the Scottish bread market. just seven years after entering the Scottish market.
National brand
In October 2003, HRH the Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
opened Warburtons eleventh bakery in Enfield
Brimsdown Industrial Estate
Brimsdown Industrial Estate is located to the east of the residential part of Brimsdown in the London Borough of Enfield. The estate, which lies in the Lea Valley, is bordered to the west by the West Anglia Main Line portion of the Lea Valley Lines and to the east by the River Lea and King George V...
, North London. In 2004, Warburtons increased production in Scotland with the completion of Bellshill, phase two. Rathbones Bakeries
Rathbones Bakeries
Rathbones Bakeries was a bakery founded in 1893, in Lydney, Gloucestershire. By 1997 it was owned by Greencore, through that company's purchase of Kears Group Two years later, Kears Group rebranded itself as Rathbones....
, based in Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, went into administration in April 2005, and Warburtons bought a bakery at Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees
Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in north east England. It is the major settlement in the unitary authority and borough of Stockton-on-Tees. For ceremonial purposes, the borough is split between County Durham and North Yorkshire as it also incorporates a number of smaller towns including...
just off the A66
A66 road
The A66 is a major road in northern England which in part follows the course of the Roman road from Scotch Corner to Penrith. It runs from east of Middlesbrough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire to Workington in Cumbria...
near Preston-on-Tees
Preston-on-Tees
Preston-on-Tees is a civil parish situated on the northern edge of Eaglescliffe, in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is home to Preston Park and Preston Hall.-Governance:...
in January 2005, and another bakery at Rogerstone
Rogerstone
Rogerstone is both a ward and community of the city of Newport, south-east Wales. The area is governed by the Newport City Council.The parish lies at the gateway to the Sirhowy valley, to the north of Newport on the eastern side of the Ebbw River...
near the A467 at Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
in November 2005. A £60m 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) super bakery in Normanton
Normanton, West Yorkshire
Normanton is a town and civil parish within the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. It is northeast of Wakefield and southwest of Castleford, and at the time of the 2001 Census, the population was 19,949.-History:...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
opened in March 2006, the largest bakery in Europe. Other bakeries outside of the Lancashire area are in Newburn
Newburn
Newburn is a semi rural village, parish, electoral ward and former urban district in western Tyne and Wear, North East England. Situated on the banks of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river...
for Newcastle-upon-Tyne next to the A6085 and River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
.
Due to over-expansion, among reductions in production in 2010, the company announced the closure of its Newport facility and a virtual-withdrawal from the South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
market by consolidating to an existing plant in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The lease on the Newport plant was ceded to Brace's Bakery.
Products
Warburtons make five categories of products: Bread, Rolls, Bakery Snacks, 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 paperWax paper
Wax paper is a kind of paper that is made moisture proof through the application of wax....
.