Morrisons has appointed advisers to look into the possible sale of its bakery business, Rathbones, as it looks to sell assets to reduce debts.
The supermarket is working with Deloitte to field interest in the bakery, which supplies baked goods to Morrisons stores from its factory in Wakefield.
Although talks over the sale are thought to be at an early stage with no guarantee that a sale will occur, industry sources have indicated private equity company Endless may be a potential buyer.
Morrisons owns various manufacturing plants and farms, and has owned Rathbones bakery since 2005 after saving it from administration.
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The grocery giant’s ex-chief executive David Potts claimed this business model has made it difficult for Morrisons to keep costs down as inflation increased.
Although speculation over the possible sale of its manufacturing sites has been prominent for years, the supermarket’s bosses have recently sought to downplay the prospect of this occuring, according to The Telegraph.
In January, Morrisons reported rising profits in its last financial year as it notched up six consecutive quarter of like-for-like sales growth.
Full year EBITDA for the supermarket chain jumped 6.5% for the year ended 29 October, rising to 8.5% during the fourth quarter.
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