Warburtons

Warburtons Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryBaking
Founded1876 (148 years ago) (1876)
FounderThomas Warburton
HeadquartersBolton, Greater Manchester, England
Key people
Jonathan Warburton (Chairman)
ProductsBread and other bakery goods
Revenue£574.4 million
Owner
  • Jonathan Warburton
  • Brett Warburton
  • Ross Warburton
Number of employees
Over 4,500[1]
ParentWarburtons Holdings Limited[2]
Websitewarburtons.co.uk

Warburtons Limited[3] is a British baking firm founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 and based in Bolton, a town formerly in Lancashire, England, and now in Greater Manchester. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and it remains a family-owned company. As of 2018, Warburtons has 12 bakeries, 14 depots, and 4,500 employees around the UK.[4]

The company embarked on a large expansion programme in the late 1990s which continued in the 2000s and it has grown across the United Kingdom after being relatively unheard of outside the North West.[5] By 2010, it had a 24% share of the UK bread market compared with 2% when it was based solely in Bolton.[6] In 2008, Warburtons was the most popular bread in Lancashire with a 45% market share compared with just 15% in London.[7]

In 2012, the Warburtons brand was the most popular bread in the United Kingdom, ahead of rivals Kingsmill and Hovis, a position it claimed in 2008.[8] Up to 2010, Warburtons products were the second-best selling food and drink brand in the UK after Coca-Cola[6] and ahead of brands such as Cadbury's, Barr's, and Walker's.[9]

The company donated £25,000 to the Conservative Party in 2010, and staged one of David Cameron's speeches at its Bolton headquarters.[10][11] In a 2016 interview with Campaign, chairman Jonathan Warburton was quoted as saying Brexit was "a very good thing to have happened", and called the European Union a "rotting corpse".[12][13]

  1. ^ "Warburtons announces expansion into Kent". Warburtons. 21 April 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Warburtons Limited persons with significant control - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Warburtons Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 29 December 1921. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  4. ^ Grant, Jeremy. "CEO succession planning in a family business". strategy+business. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  5. ^ "A family firm that blows its own trumpet". BBC News. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b Teather, Daniel (8 April 2010). "Family values hold key to the rise and rise of Warburtons". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Warburtons launches battle of the bakers with £22m campaign". The Times. 6 October 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Coke Still Fizzing As Smoothies Rocket". Sky News. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  9. ^ Wallop, Harry (22 February 2007). "Warburtons now second biggest UK brand". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  10. ^ Warnes, Sophie; Sommerlad, Nick (25 March 2015). "Buy these 11 things and you are unwittingly funding the Tories". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Bread rolls in for David Cameron with £25,000 from Warburtons". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Ties that bind: How business dynasties create brand opportunities". Campaign Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  13. ^ "Warburtons boss toasted over 2016 comments about 'rotting' EU – here's why". www.indy100.com. 24 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.