Chester bakery shuts as company axes 450 jobs

Jun 10 2008 by Laurie Stocks-Moore, Chester Chronicle

PAUL McCartney’s favourite Chester bakery has closed as 450 jobs are axed across the North West.

Sayers on Northgate Street, visited by the Beatles legend in 2003, shut yesterday (Monday, June 9) as the firm’s parent company Lyndale Group was placed into administration. Another 39 loss-making stores in the region also shut with immediate effect.

Sayers’ chairman Sandy Birnie bought 158 of the 198 North West shops from administrator BDO Stoy Hayward, safeguarding 1,500 jobs. The stores on St Werburgh Street and Bridge Street in Chester and at Church Street, Frodsham are amongst those saved from closure.

Mr Birnie said the remaining stores will trade as Sayers the Bakers.

He said: “Everyone knows about the problems that we have experienced over the past few months and years and this has been compounded recently by escalating costs of raw materials as well as soaring energy and fuel costs.

“Unfortunately we have had to take some extremely difficult decisions in recent weeks.

“But the situation was simply unsustainable and we have had to act now in order to protect the long term futures and job security for the remaining 1,500 employees around the North West.”

In 2003, the bakers received a visit from Sir Paul McCartney and then wife Heather Mills.

While shopping on Northgate Street, the couple had asked where they could buy the best chips in town and were pointed in the direction of Sayers, later enjoying their modest meal on the Cathedral Green.

At the time, shop assistant Sophie Noaks said: “They asked for a portion of chips to take away. I think it was for both of them. He was very polite and very pleasant.

“I didn’t bother them - I thought he’s chosen a low-key place like Chester because he wants to be low-key. He spoke to another man like he’d known him all his life.”

Colleague Eileen Salmon added: “He wasn”t a bit stuck-up. He was really pleasant.”

In its last published accounts, to September, 2006, the 96-year-old Liverpool bakers had debts of £9m and had an operating loss of around £2m.