Bakery behind Paul Hollywood baps gets more cash for expansion

The bakery group behind Paul Hollywood’s bread range has secured new investment and snagged the former boss of Tyrells as its chairman to drive growth.

St Pierre Groupe, which has rebranded from its former name Carrs Foods, has received £6.7 million backing from BGF and Lloyds Bank for plans to accelerate growth of its brands.

The group, which also makes the Baker Street brand, brought in turnover of £69 million in 2018 and forecasts reaching £150 million by 2022.

David Milner, who led crisps brand Tyrells until it was sold for £300 million in 2016, will also join the company as non-executive chairman.

He said: “I am thrilled to be part of the St Pierre Groupe journey. I recognise many similarities in its working practises with those we adopted at Tyrrells. Here at St Pierre Groupe we have a quality product in a market desperate for supply.

“The company’s growth in the past decade has been genuinely exciting and the international expansion and new product development gives us huge scope to go to the next level.”

The company’s products are currently stocked in around 12,000 stores globally. Exports accounted for just over half of sales last year.

With the new investment, St Pierre’s management plans to increase its penetration in existing markets and introduce new products.

Founder Jeremy Gilboy said: “Both the new investment and the appointment of a chairman of David’s stature, gives us great opportunity to meet our targets and continue growing at a significant pace.

“We’ve worked hard to be where we are today, having grown from being a British family-run company into a fast-growing global bakery business.”

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