Firkins Bakery Limited, based in West Bromwich, has been forced to cut 140 jobs after going into administration. Rocketing overheads and the economic downturn are blamed.
The business was founded 138 years ago. Managing director Ian Bolderston saved 200 jobs by buying back 30 of the shops from the administrator, but 21 branches across the Black Country have had to close.
He said “This is an awful position to find ourselves in.”
“In the past year, the price of ingredients, electricity and gas have soared, meaning the overheads to the business have become crippling.
“We have battled to keep the business afloat and had agreed in principal to additional investment but when the financial wheels came off the banking system over the last two months the funding package could not be agreed. ”
Bolderston regretted that without the required funds Firkins Bakery could not survive in its current form. The business will continue under the name Firkin Foods Limited. He said “We are very sorry to the staff and suppliers who will lose out because we could not make the business work.”
