Exclusive – Cornish Bakery to explore a sale of the business: Fast-growing independent brand Cornish Bakery has appointed advisors to oversee a sale of the business, Propel has learned. The 66-strong business, which was founded in 1994 by Steve Grocutt, is understood to be working with sector specialist advisory firm Tamweel. Cornish Bakery is set to generate interest from private equity firms and strategic trade suitors. From a small fishing village in Cornwall, the business expanded into “tourist hotspots” and has since successfully moved into high streets, retail outlet centres, motorway services, and event spaces such as the NEC in Birmingham. Cornish Bakery said it has seen sustained year-on-year growth, with revenue and site Ebitda for the 12 months to May 2025 expected to reach £37m and £8.3m, respectively, alongside like-for-like sales growth of approximately 9% coming from increased spend and volume of transactions. Under the leadership of Mat Finch, who was appointed the brand's managing director last summer, Cornish Bakery said it has continued its strong momentum, reporting 26% revenue growth in the second half of 2024. During this period, it expanded into Nottingham, Taunton, Winchester, Chelmsford, Milton Keynes, and Cirencester – and since 2022 it has opened 18 new bakeries. The company is set to open a further eight stores in the coming months and believes there is potential for hundreds of bakeries across UK high streets and transport hubs. The company said a recent nationwide survey it commissioned highlighted the bakery coffee shop category's strength, with consumers rating bakery coffee shops significantly higher than traditional coffee brands across areas such as: food quality, speed of service, value for money, staff friendliness, décor, and even coffee quality. Notably, 74% of respondents rated bakery coffee shops above four out of five for food quality, compared with 42% for traditional coffee brands. Similar trends appeared in value for money, with bakery coffee shops scoring 51% versus 28% for traditional coffee brands, highlighting their appeal to consumers seeking a more premium yet affordable experience. In addition, when benchmarked against a cohort of leading competitors, Cornish Bakery said it consistently ranked number one with its Google review scores. Grocutt said: “Cornish Bakery has always been about more than just great coffee and delicious food – it's about creating spaces where people feel at home and staff love to work. From our first bakery in Cornwall to our nationwide presence today, we've stayed true to our vision of bringing high-quality, handcrafted products to every corner of the UK. The brand is in a fantastic position for its next chapter, and I'm incredibly proud of what we've built. With the right partner, Cornish Bakery has the potential to go much further, and I'm excited for what's next.” The fast-growing bakery coffee shop segment is forecast to grow at circa 9% per year from 2025-2027, driven by increasing consumer demand for premium baked goods alongside top-quality coffee. “Cornish Bakery has played a huge part in defining the high growth bakery coffee shop segment, offering customers a next-generation format that is capturing market share from traditional coffee brands,” said Ali Aneizi, founder of Tamweel. “Over the past decade, bakeries have evolved from simply selling bread and pastries to becoming vibrant social hubs, much like coffee shops. This shift has positioned bakeries as the new coffee shops – creating versatile destinations that serve high-quality coffee alongside a premium food range.” Earlier this year, Cornish Bakery reported turnover rose to £29,357,900 in the 52 weeks to 30 May 2024 (2023: £23,671,769), while profit before tax was down to £1,140,900 from £1,379,056 the year before. Cornish Bakery features in the Propel 500 report, an unparalleled resource that profiles the UK’s leading hospitality operators ranked by turnover – which is available free now to Premium Club subscribers. This comprehensive report provides more than 90,000 words of analysis, delving into company histories, leadership structures, site numbers and financial performance, making it an essential resource for industry professionals. A list of the operators included can be discovered now by visiting the Propel 500 page on Propel’s website. The guide is delivered in two parts: an introductory PDF, featuring deep dives into the top 25 companies and 6,500 words of insight from Propel’s expert writers, and a fully searchable Excel sheet, offering easy access to all the data. Key highlights include Mark Wingett’s exploration of mergers and acquisitions shaping the Top 500’s future, Tim Street’s view of the UK’s franchise market, and Phil Pemberton’s insights into experiential leisure as a hospitality cornerstone. Katherine Doggrell examines developments in UK hotels, while Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, identifies emerging growth sectors, and Maria Vanifatova, founder of Meaningful Vision, analyses trends in quick service restaurants. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

London restaurateurs warn April’s cost increases will be ‘final nail’ for many in sector: Restaurateurs in London have warned the rise in costs from next month will be the “final nail” for many in the sector. The rate of employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) will rise from 13.8% to 15% while the earnings threshold at which they start to be charged falls from £9,100 to £5,000 a year. This will drag thousands of part-time workers into NICs for the first time and hugely increase the cost of many lowly paid staff on the national living wage, which rises by 6.7%.The double whammy will typically add around £700 to £800 a year to the cost of employing a member of staff. James Robson, co-founder of the company behind Haymarket’s Fallow and Roe in Canary Wharf, told The Standard: “It feels like we have to be at battle-stations ready. We’ve already seen staff costs creep up to closer to 40% than 30% the last few years. We have never been so focused on finding efficiencies with team members. New site or business growth is generally off the table unless something gives with the tax regime or rent levels. The ultimate outcome will be unemployment rising. I’ve had more than ten existing 5,000 square-foot-plus sites offered to me the last two weeks – more than the whole of last year – which basically sums the market up. Sadly I’m aware of two good businesses shutting in the past few days with more than 300 staff made redundant.” Charlie Gilkes, co-founder of Inception Group, said those higher costs now posed an existential risk to the sector. “I am increasingly hearing the business model is broken for hospitality businesses in the UK and operators are looking to open in other territories like the UAE with a less hostile environment for business,” he added. “For many bars, pubs and restaurants, this is the final nail and they won’t survive.” Jacob Kenedy, co-owner of Bocca di Lupo in Soho, said the real victims will be workers in the industry who rely on it to put food on their own tables. He said the cost to Bocca Di Lupo – a 70-seater restaurant – is about £140,000 a year. He added: “We are fortunate to be able to survive this battering, provided revenues hold, but there is a risk if these changes trigger inflationary price rises across the board and reduce the number of people in work, people will spend less and some contraction be inflicted on the economy. Without a doubt, businesses will close. I have seen some already do so, based just on forecast. This is a retrograde step that will stifle any glimmers of growth, rather than encourage it.” Martin Kuczmarski, founder and chief executive of The Dover in Mayfair, said he is planning to hire out the venue for big events to hopefully generate more revenue.