Sayers the Bakers is the largest independent retail

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

in the

North West of England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...

, established in 1912 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The retailer sells savouries,

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

es and bakery products across over 150 stores, from

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

down to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

in Wales. Sayers remained a family run business until 1977 when it was sold to

United Biscuits United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In ...

, and then again to

Warburtons Warburtons Limited is a British baking firm founded by Thomas Warburton in 1876 and based in Bolton, a town formerly in Lancashire, England, and now in Greater Manchester. For much of its history Warburtons only had bakeries in Lancashire and ...

in 1990. In 2019, it went into administration but was bought by a new company, Sayers and Poundbakery.

History

Sayers was established in 1912 by Fred and Lylian Sayer. Their first kitchen was based in a basement in Prescot Road,

Old Swan Old Swan is an eastern neighbourhood of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, bordered by Knotty Ash, Stoneycroft, Broadgreen, Fairfield, Liverpool, Fairfield and Wavertree. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the population was 16,461. ...

and this then moved to a second shop in County Road, Walton in 1922. A larger bakery opened on Aintree Road in Bootle, in 1925. Then in 1931, a further expansion moved the business to a larger location in Lorenzo Drive,

Norris Green Norris Green is a suburb and ward of Liverpool, England, in the east of the city. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 17,784, which had fallen to 15,047 at the 2011 Census. History Historically a part of Lancashire, Norris Green's dev ...

. Sayers then remained a family business until 1977, when it was sold to United Biscuits. It was sold again to

in July 1990, a baking firm based in

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

. Warburtons also bought Hampsons, Sayers' sister company and other bakeries in their estate included Burneys of Rochdale, Spinks of Sharston, Parkers of Eccles, Burtons of Blackpool. In 1996, Warburtons sold all its bakers stores to Lyndale Foods. The following year, the brand was expanded through the acquisition of Anne's Shops from Roberts Bakery. In 2006, 183 jobs were lost at the site in Norris Green, Liverpool, with a further 200 going in 2007. The parent company of Sayers, the Lyndale Group, went into administration on 9 June 2008 and the Norris Green site was closed immediately. Sayers itself entered administration in December 2019 and was bought by Karen Wood, forming a new company, Sayers and Poundbakery Limited.

Future

Sayers is currently the biggest independent retail baker in the north west and North Wales, with more than 150 shops and 25 cafés from

in the north to

in the south, and

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

in the west to Halifax in the east. Some of its shops have now changed to a sister brand, Poundbakery, which sells similar products but at a lower price.

Products

Sayers sells a range of cakes, savouries, sandwiches, soups and bakery products. Sayers also manufactures frozen foods under the Sayers brand which is sold in stores such as Home Bargains and

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

(in England) as of May 2025.

References

External links

Sayers Webpage
{{UK Food Retail companies of the United Kingdom Bakeries of the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1912 Companies based in Liverpool 1912 establishments in England Food and drink companies established in 1912