Cost of living: Family bakery to close after nearly 160 years

A bakery that opened nearly 160 years ago has been forced to close after "drowning in a sea of increased overheads".

Robinsons Artisan Family Bakery in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, is set to close its doors on 16 December.

The family-run business was established in 1864 and has passed down through six generations.

David Robinson, who has worked at the bakery for 53 years, said the rise in energy bills had been "unsustainable".

"We've been drowning in a sea of increased overheads," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

"The price of every ingredient we use is constantly going upwards but the main driving force behind our problem has been the cost of energy.

"Our electricity bills are four times what they were 18 months ago and it's unsustainable for us to carry on with these costs."

He added that the company had no option but to absorb most of these costs.

"How can we put an extra £60,000 or £70,000 of electricity on to the cost of the product? It's just impossible," he said.

He added that while staff understand the financial pressures they have been living through, making the announcement was "the most difficult thing he has had to do in business".

Posting on the firm's Facebook page, his daughter Grace Robinson, who manages the store, said she felt "extremely grateful to have had the past 23 years' experience being taught to be a baker and a business owner by my grandad Arthur, and my dad David".

"As a kid it was all I ever wanted to do, and to this day I still love being a baker, it really is my passion.

"We would like to say a huge thank you to all of you for supporting us through two World Wars, two recessions, a Great Depression, Covid, multiple supermarket and fast-food chains opening closer and closer and many more obstacles."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]