Plan B Forum

The oldest bakery in Britain - whose customers included the Pilgrim Fathers 400 years ago - has gone on sale.



F.H.Jacka has been making bread, pasties and cakes on Plymouth's Barbican quayside since at least 1600.

Historians say the Pilgrim Fathers stocked up with biscuits from the shop before embarking on their historic voyage to America in 1620.

The pioneers set sail from steps just yards away from the ancient shop.

Locals speculate it could even date as far back as the late 16th century when Sir Francis Drake lived nearby and could also have been a regular customer.

The bakery has had multiple owners down the centuries but is still serving pastries and snacks as well as drawing tourists and history buffs.

It is currently owned by Friary Mills Bakeries who have put the business and its Grade II listed premises up for sale at £275,000.

Although most of the baking happens off site now, estate agents Huntley & Partners reckon prospective owners could still earn a decent crust.

The three-storey building itself features an Elizabethan balcony to the rear and two or three bedrooms for its owners.

Brian Hasell, senior partner of Huntley & Partners, said: "Businesses with the historic credentials of Jacka's don't come on to the market that often.

"It is a very profitable operation currently turning over approximately £150,000 per annum.

"It benefits from local residents' custom and trade from yacht owners and the fishing community as well as the year round business from the thousands of tourists attracted to one of the country's most famous historic locations where the narrow cobbled streets are characterized by superb restaurants, pubs, galleries and gift shops.

"Jacka's is also a business with considerable potential. Currently under corporate ownership, all its products are prepared off-site and baked off on arrival.

"However, there is excellent potential for the reintroduction of on-site baking which would no doubt enhance future turnover and profits in the future."

The agents say the property is best-suited to remain as a bakery and planning permission would be required to convert it to any other use.

Read more at http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/His ... yR6Q5Kx.99

rubato wrote:Why would "hand made biscuits" be better rather than less hygenic and pointlessly more expensive? Would you pay for "hand made plywood sheets" or "hand made bolts"?

rubato wrote:Why would "hand made biscuits" be better rather than less hygenic and pointlessly more expensive? Would you pay for "hand made plywood sheets" or "hand made bolts"?


yrs,
rubato

Gob wrote:
By potting the left, without a gear for the hypotenuses.

By potting the left, without a gear for the hypotenuses.

Lord Jim wrote:Why is it going so cheap?

Aside from the historic aspect, it looks like the business is being sold for less than twice one year's profit; (three years in this country is considered a standard rule of thumb, though there are obviously variables; but this also includes ownership of the building; not just a lease...)

There must be a missing piece here...

all its products are prepared off-site and baked off on arrival.