Bakery brand Warburtons has announced a £100m investment as it marks 150 years of operations and builds towards long-term growth.

The brand is set to acquire the former Rathbones bakery site from Myton Food Group for an undisclosed amount, which includes the land, buildings and all machinery.

Following the acquisition, the business will invest in developing the site to expand its production capabilities. The new location will become the 13th bakery under the business and aims to support the increasing consumer demands for the brand’s products.

Warburtons expects to complete the project in September this year, which will create over 40 jobs across manufacturing, warehouse and distribution.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

Jonathan Warburton, chairman of Warburton’s, said: “We’re extremely pleased to have agreed a deal on the former Rathbones site and look forward to welcoming new colleagues to the business very soon.

“Our family business takes a long-term approach, investing in our infrastructure to ensure we not only meet consumer needs today but are also set up to do so for the future.”

Additionally, the business is investing in redeveloping a gluten-free bakery in Newburn which has been the production site of the Warburtons Gluten Free range since the beginning in 2011. The bakery is expected to be fully operational in autumn this year.

Warburtons is also currently building a new distribution centre at Biggleswade to back its wider bakery and depot network to deliver over 2m products to over 18,500 stores.

The business also made a move to meet rising demand for crumpets and pancakes by investing in a pancake line at the Bolton bakery and two new crumpet lines at the bakery in Burnley.