BakeSense, a provider of support services to bakeries, has acquired two sites in Doncaster and Wigan owned by food distributor Oakdale Bakeries, which entered administration in January.

BakeSense, a provider of support services to bakeries, has acquired two sites in Doncaster and Wigan owned by food distributor Oakdale Bakeries, which entered administration in January.

The deal, completed for an undisclosed sum, was backed by GE Commercial Finance with £6 million. Some 250 jobs over the two sites were saved by the acquisition, but a third site in Morley has closed down.

The management team at Oakdale, which will now trade as BakeSense Bakeries, will be led by Philip Scholes, Director at BakeSense, and Simon Wells, Regional Director at GE Commercial Finance.

Oakdale turned over more than £32 million for the year to December 2005, but made a pre-tax loss of £785,000, rising to £5 million in 2006.

Scholes says: ‘Although Oakdale Bakeries ran into difficulties, the management team at Bakesense saw the potential in acquiring the business, which would complement our current offering.’

The acquisition will enable Cheshire-based BakeSense to widen its customer base through cross-selling and an increased range of products and services.