Ormeau Bakery taken over by Mother's Pride

Mothers Pride Northern Ireland have announced the takeover of the south Belfast-based Ormeau Bakery.

The contracts setting out the move have already been exchanged and the deal is set to be completed on Friday March 1.

The parent company of Mother's Pride, British Bakeries, have said that upon completion of the deal there will be a rationalisation process to streamline the business over the next few months. While the exact number of redundancies will be not be known until that process is concluded, it is likely that jobs will go at the factory.

Ormeau Bakeries have been struggling lately in what has become a highly competitive market. However, Alan Stephens, Managing Director at Mothers Pride Northern Ireland, said that he believed that the combined weight of the Ormo brand -name and the resources of Mother's Pride would reverse the company's fortunes.

He said: “This merger between Mothers Pride and Ormeau marks an exciting time for our businesses in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We see this merger as essential if we are to maintain a viable long-term presence in Northern Ireland.”

The merged business will retain the brand name Ormo and will continue to use Northern Ireland-based AH Foods for its flour supply.

Paul Rothwell, Chief Executive of Ormeau Bakery, said: “I take this as a major vote of confidence in the Ormo bakery brand from one of the best UK food companies. I am confident that joining with a strong food group will help Ormeau to build on our innovation track record. We should be able to open up sales and export opportunities at the same time as maintaining our commitment to our customers and consumers, as we have done for over 125 years.”

Dr Alastair McDonnell, the SDLP spokesman for Enterprise, Trade and Investment stated that the takeover would not benefit the Ormeau workforce.

"This is worrying news for Ormeau Bakery and for south Belfast. I would ask the owners of British Bakeries to look hard at developing the potential of Ormeau Bakery. I would suggest that British Bakeries may be missing out, along with the workforce of the bakery, if staffing levels are affected by this takeover."

Mothers Pride Northern Ireland is part of RHM, one of the leading UK food businesses. Ormeau, established in 1875, is one of the largest independent bakeries in Northern Ireland.

(GMcG)