Award winning Longford business Pat the Baker to be acquired by London firm

Pat the Baker, Longford's most beloved Bakery and an Irish titan of industry can be found nestled at the top of Granard town. Since 1953, the bakery has provided fresh loaves, buns, and other goodies to the shelves and tables of the Country’s homes and shops.

Pat the Baker has been bringing employment and business to the streets of the market town for just over 70 years, since the day Pat (Higgins) himself, a Mayo man originally, set up shop.

It is hard to walk through the streets of Granard and not notice the presence of the factory that watches over the streets like an ever-present guardian. The signature scent of freshly baked bread that filters through every nook and cranny is a welcome side effect of the company’s tenure in the town.

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The company's famous slogan, “So Fresh it’s Famous” is no exaggeration, Pat the Baker is a nationwide brand and has been continuously successful throuhout its seven decades in business. In 2018, they took over another well-known Irish bakery, Irish Pride, buying the company for the price of €4.5 million.

Now, Pat the Baker is beginning a new journey. Mayfair Equity, an equity firm based in London, has now put forward its bid for the ownership of Pat the Baker.

As of December 23 last, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has been notified of their intent to acquire the bakery.

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The filing that is available to view on the CCPC website, details that Pat the Baker, and Irish Pride will join Mayfair Equity Partners through Ceres Midco 2 Limited, a consortium of baked goods companies backed by Mayfair Equity.

No parties at Mayfair Equity were available to comment.

It is understood an integral part of the acquisition is increasing manufacturing capacity at the award-winning bakery to meet growing consumer demand.

“Production capacity, that’s the big focus here,” a source said, “Meeting growing demand and solving a capacity constraint in manufacturing.”

While the documents have been filed the deal is still subject to closing conditions.

According to the source, each company is expected to retain their existing management teams, operational independence and distinct brands under Ceres.

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With any business deal like this one, there is a fear that the local people might lose out.

A question that has been on many people's minds is whether the company will remain in Granard?

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This, however, doesn't seem like something that will happen.

The source said, “It’s officially a manufacturing agreement, so all the brands are going to be keeping their operational independence, the key focus is helping with production capacity.”

Pat the Baker has gone through many changes throughout its lifetime. It all began in the back of Pat Higgins's home in 1953. The bakery didn’t move to a larger premises until 1977.

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As mentioned earlier, the bakery provides massive employment to the people of Granard and the surrounding areas.
Nowadays, the company has around 400 employees.