Pettigrew Bakeries Announces Major Expansion with New Cardiff Headquarters
Cardiff-based family-owned bakery Pettigrew Bakeries is embarking on a significant expansion project, investing in a new production facility and café that will serve as its central headquarters. The business, which has experienced sustained growth, is relocating to a 5,500 square foot site at the Design Quarter on Colchester Avenue in the Penylan area of the city.
Centralising Operations and Boosting Capacity
This strategic move will bring all baking activities under one roof for the first time, addressing operational challenges. Previously, production was split across two separate bakery spaces in Victoria Park and Moy Road in Roath, a model that had become increasingly complex and restrictive as demand grew. The new facility is scheduled to open in June and has been secured with a ten-year lease.
The expansion is expected to create ten new jobs, adding to the current workforce of 45 full and part-time staff. It will also increase production capacity, supporting future wholesale growth. Additionally, both the Victoria Park and Roath Garage retail sites will receive upgrades as part of this development.
A Customer-Focused Bakery Café Experience
A key feature of the new site will be a customer-facing bakery café, designed to enhance the visitor experience. It will include a theatre-style window that offers a direct view into the heart of the bakery, allowing customers to watch the baking process in action. This aligns with the business's commitment to craftsmanship and community engagement.
David Le Masurier, founder of Pettigrew Bakeries, explained the rationale behind the expansion: "We have outgrown every inch of space we own, so this is just the logical next step for us. For ten years, we have relentlessly focused on our craft, putting consistency above everything else and incrementally improving what we do in response to what our customers tell us they love."
Enhancing Efficiency and Creativity
Le Masurier emphasised that growth is now a necessity, solving overly complicated daily operations while providing room for greater creativity and ambition. The bakery is investing in new technology to scale up production, but it remains dedicated to hand-crafted methods. "Pettigrew is still about highly skilled professional bakers, hand-producing bread, pastries and more, seven days a week, 363 days of the year," he said. "The difference is that this new space will allow our bakers to spend more time baking, and less time carrying things up and down stairs or in and out of provers."
Personal Significance and Strategic Location
The new site holds personal significance for Le Masurier, a graduate of Cardiff Metropolitan University's hospitality management course 25 years ago, as it is located next to the former campus site. He noted that the move was carefully planned: "We probably could have made this move a year ago, but we wanted to make sure this was right for everybody involved in this business. After an exhaustive search, we found this site. It gives us the access and infrastructure we need as a working bakery, but it also sits right alongside residential neighbourhoods, which makes it the perfect place to create a comfortable bakery café space, too."
The facility has been designed by Alistair Nicoll Architect, blending functionality with aesthetic appeal. Pettigrew Bakeries currently operates across four sites in Cardiff—Victoria Park, Roath Garage, Castle Arcade, and Rhiwbina High Street—and has a weekly presence at all three Cardiff Farmers Markets in Rhiwbina, Roath, and Riverside.
