Bakery group shows flour power with deal to buy closed factory

David Wood Baking has commenced production at a site in Dudley, West Midlands, helping turn the group into a £30m turnover business after starting from scratch two years ago.

The factory is the third site to be acquired by managing director David Wood and his wife Karen, after they bought Medway Foods’ savoury pasty site in Sheerness, Kent, two years ago and Peter Hunt’s bakery in Bolton shortly after. All three factories have been fitted out with the latest food production equipment.

Mr Wood, 42, a former director who owned 50 per cent of Leeds-based Country Style Foods Ltd, said the group is now supplying supermarkets across the UK.

“All our three new acquisitions had closed after declining performance due to hectic price fluctuations in commodities such as flour, fat and meat and other strategic issues,” he said.

“In spite of the tough economic climate, we have restarted them and have taken on 300 of the 600 people previously employed at Sheerness and Bolton.

“We have an experienced, flexible management team able to respond quickly to customer needs and we only use top-quality ingredients. We have invested substantially in the fully-refurbished Dudley factory and are now producing part-baked speciality breads for our customers.”

The acquisitions and equipment upgrades were funded with support from Yorkshire Bank, led by a team at its Leeds Financial Solutions Centre.

Yorkshire Bank Leeds FSC business partner Jim Myles said: “David Wood and his team are hugely experienced and have saved a significant number of jobs and created a fast-growing business in the toughest economic period for 80 years.”