Maison Blanc was a British bakery chain, founded by

Raymond Blanc Raymond Blanc OBE (born 19 November 1949) is a French chef. Blanc is the chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the ''Good Food Guid ...

in 1981.

History

In May 1999, Lyndale Foods purchased Maison Blanc for £12 million. At this point, it was the UK's second largest bakery chain. In 2007,

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

i firm Kout Food Group rescued Maison Blanc, as Lyndale Foods began to struggle financially. In the year ending 31 December 2014, Maison Blanc had reported a loss of nearly £3 million.

Closure

In September 2016, Kout Food Group hired a property agent to carry out a strategic review of the 13 Maison Blanc locations and production facility. In December 2016, there were rumours that rival,

Patisserie Valerie Patisserie Valerie is a multi-channel cake business that operates in the United Kingdom. The business specialises in handmade birthday cakes, pastries and other fancy cakes which can either be ordered online for delivery throughout the UK, or bou ...

, would purchase the chain, but with Kout Food Group retaining the brand name. In March 2017, the chain was closed by Kout Food Group as they began to withdraw from the UK market, with all locations closed down. In July 2017, it was announced that Patisserie Valerie would move into four former Maison Blanc locations. In February 2019, Maison Blanc's former production facility was sold to Joe & Seph's. The office space above had served as the UK headquarters for Kout Food Group.

References

1981 establishments in England 2017 disestablishments in England Bakeries of the United Kingdom {{UK-company-stub