Yorkshire bakery Cooplands snapped up by Asda owners the Issa brothers

Yorkshire’s favourite bakery, Cooplands, is set to expand across the UK after the brand was acquired by EG Group.
Bakery store assistant is giving a coffee and a leaflet to a customer in a Cooplands store

Beloved Yorkshire-born bakery Cooplands may soon be popping up in petrol and service stations across the UK, following news that the brand has sold to entrepreneurs Zuber and Mohsin Issa – who also bought Asda last year.

Huge expansion plans have been announced for the chain as part of the acquisition deal, which sees the UK’s second-largest bakery chain snapped up by the Mancunian Issa brother’s EG Group.

Known for their petrol and service stations, the brothers used the EG Group to acquire CS Food Groups Holdings Limited, which operates as Cooplands.

Through this group, Cooplands owns and operates three bakeries that produce its fresh products before they are distributed to a network of 180 stores and cafes across Yorkshire and the northeast.

Staff stood outside new Cooplands store in Yeadon, Leeds
Cooplands opened a store in Yeadon, Leeds in September but after their acquisition with EG Group, it is expected the bakery brand will travel further across the UK. Image: Cooplands Bakery

Cooplands has come a long way since its 1885 debut as a pork butcher and pie maker. The business now has over 170 shops and twelve cafes across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the northeast but this number is only set to expand over the month months.

In a statement regarding the takeover, EG Group said that Cooplands “complement EG Group’s extensive food service brand portfolio, including popular third-party brands such as Starbucks, KFC and Subway”.

The “transaction will provide a platform to diversify the Cooplands brand into the transient petrol forecourt and retail convenience store channel, alongside the bakery chain’s traditional store formats, through EG Group’s extensive UK network”.

The acquisition also promises to ensure that the fresh food remains at the forefront of Cooplands’ image so that they can continue “to satisfy existing customers and attract new ones”.

The assurance of remaining an authentic, individual brand should mirror the approach taken regarding the management of other recent EG Group acquisitions, including popular restaurant chain LEON in May 2021.

Cooplands was previously backed by BGF, however this new acquisition from EG Group marks the end of BGF’s involvement in the bakery chain.

Although there is no set time frame for the introduction of Cooplands in EG stores, we can only imagine that we will be seeing Yorkshire’s finest baked goods in petrol and service stations, amongst other stores in the near future.

Feature Image- Cooplands Bakery

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