Baker & Baker made its first acquisition since becoming a standalone bakery products manufacturer, after signing an agreement with Portuguese bakery Peipen. Baker & Baker has acquired the order book, all equipment and machinery, and has assumed full responsibility for the personnel – entering into a long-term rental agreement with the original owners for the real estate and building.

Based in Peniche, close to Lisbon, Peipen is a leading producer of Pastel de Nata, which are largely handcrafted.

This acquisition brings production in-house, as Peipen was previously a direct supplier to Baker & Baker, with room for expansion for the production of Pastel de Nata. The Peniche site employs around 60 people, and all employees have been transferred to Baker & Baker from the start of September.

The Peniche site, a modern bakery manufacturing facility, was originally owned by Unilever and has a total footprint of around 5,000 sqm. The factory currently produces around 1,000 tonnes a year, Baker & Baker plans to introduce additional product lines and equipment. The site currently manufactures other, non-bakery product lines, which will be discontinued by the end of 2022, and this will further facilitate additional capacity as the site becomes fully focussed on specialty bakery products.

The Peniche site is the third manufacturing location operated by Baker & Baker in Portugal, in addition to Santo Tirso and Sāo Joāo da Talha, and follows long-term organic growth in the Iberian region.

Pastel de Nata is a traditional Portuguese pastry, filled with egg custard tart. It has enjoyed strong growth in retail and food service in recent years in the UK and continental Europe. Baker & Baker anticipates and supports further growth and customer listings following the acquisition of Peipen’s operations.

John Lindsay, the European CEO at Baker & Baker, commented: “We’re thrilled to have concluded the acquisition of Peipen. It’s a strong business that has supported us as a supplier for many years. The facility complements our existing portfolio by adding an attractive, core bakery line and supports our move towards developing our specialty laminated business in our growing Iberian market and quickly adds much-needed capacity. We’re confident that Baker & Baker Peniche can deliver further growth for our business, through additional Pastel de Nata listings and the introduction of additional specialty bakery lines.”

Photo: Baker & Baker