Top man at Bettys quits after months in charge

Andrew Baker became the first non-family member to take the helm of the tea and confectionary business when he replaced Jonathan Wild earlier this year.

But the company issued a statement yesterday confirming that Mr Baker had stepped down.

The statement said: “It is with regret that we announce Andrew Baker has left Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate. Andrew brought many admirable qualities and enormous experience to the role, but he and the board both agreed that the longer-term ambitions and cultural direction for the group called for a different approach. We wish Andrew every success for the future.”

When asked whether a replacement had been lined up for Mr Baker, a spokeswoman for the company said: “We have not got an announcement for that at the moment.”

It was a very different story when Mr Baker was appointed in May after a year-long search. The chairman of Bettys & Taylors, Lesley Wild, had welcomed the new recruit on board and paid tribute to Mr Baker as an “accomplished chief executive” who would bring a “wealth of experience in commercial, strategic, international, social and environmental responsibility”.

Mr Baker was the former chief executive of Duchy Originals, the organic food company founded by the Prince of Wales. He has also held director roles at Cadbury Schweppes, Tate & Lyle and Premier Brands, as well as setting up and managing his own food marketing business in France.

Mr Baker replaced Mr Wild, the great nephew of Frederick Belmont, the Swiss confectioner who founded Bettys in 1919.

He retired after more than 35 years of involvement with the family-owned business, with more than 20 years in the role of the chief executive. When he first joined the business in 1975, it employed 350 staff and had an annual turnover of £1.6m.

In April when he retired, the Yorkshire Post reported that staff numbers had risen more than threefold to 1,246, sales had grown to £103m and Taylors of Harrogate was producing the third largest tea brand in the UK, the best-selling roast and ground coffee brand in the UK and exporting to more than 30 countries worldwide.

There are six Bettys tearooms – two in Harrogate, two in York, Northallerton and Ilkley, and the company has famously refused to open branches outside of Yorkshire.

Bettys & Taylors revealed earlier this year that it had broken through the £100m turnover barrier for the first time. The company recorded pre-tax profits of £9.4m for the year to the end of October, up from £7.7m in the previous 12 months.

Turnover at the firm behind the Bettys Tea Rooms and the Taylors of Harrogate tea and coffee brands grew 16 per cent to £102.8m. Staff shared £2.3m of the profits, increasing their pay by 12.9 per cent.