Warburtons 150th Anniversary
Bakers born and bred Back in 1876, Ellen Warburton put her first batch of four loaves and six cakes out for sale in her grocery store in Bolton. They sold like hot cakes (quite literally), disappearing in under an hour. Within two weeks, the shop had been renamed Warburtons the Bakers, and a family legacy had begun. Fast forward 150 years, the fifth generation of her family are running Britain’s biggest bakery brand, and the instinct that drove Ellen that day has never really changed. Since Chairman Jonathan Warburton, and his cousins Brett and Ross, took the reins from their fathers in 1991, they’ve always remembered the special responsibility of shepherding a family business. “You’re not just running a business. You’re carrying something for the people who come after you,” says Jonathan. That sense of carrying something forward is the defining characteristic of a family business done right, and it’s what separates Warburtons from businesses that are simply well run. The Warburtons family has always operated on a longer clock than most, asking not what the business needs this quarter, but what builds long-term success. It’s that ambition that has driven growth from a single Bolton bakery to 13 bakeries and 19 depots across the country, transforming the business into the largest British grocery brand. This year alone, Warburtons is putting over £100m back into its own future, including a new bakery in Wakefield, a gluten-free facility in Newburn, a new pancake line in Bolton, two dedicated crumpet lines in Burnley, and a new distribution centre in Biggleswade. When the business already bakes 2.3 million crumpets every week, it shows
they are ready to keep supplying great baked goods to every kitchen table across the country. The sixth generation of the Warburton family is embedded in the business today, gaining hands-on experience across marketing, operations and responsible business, before formally joining the Board this year. The baton is being passed with care, and the values that have always defined the brand are in good hands. That same self-assurance shows up in how Warburtons faces the world. The 150 Years in the Baking anniversary campaign brought in Hollywood icon Morgan Freeman. “I found myself quite taken by that crumpet,” he said. “Three hundred holes. I told you those Warburtons were crazy.” It’s the kind of bold move that comes from a business rooted in quality and innovation, always looking to grow the baked goods category and build a brand that endures. Jonathan sums it up perfectly: “When your name is on the door and on the product, you’re always striving to be your best, now and for the future, and to make your family and customers proud.” One hundred and fifty years on from those first loaves and cakes being sold in Bolton, the Warburton family is already thinking about the next 150 years – and how it can keep going from strength to strength.
Jonathan Warburton Fifth Generation Chairman Warburtons
Warburton’s old shop in Bolton
Warburtons employs over 5,000 people across 13 bakeries and 19 depots throughout Great Britain, delivering over 2 million products to 18,500 stores every day.
Opening of the Bolton bakery in 1915
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