A SCOTS bakery that has been “an important part” of its island community for two decades is to close immediately.
Waas Bakery – the public-facing name of Walls Bakery Limited – was set up in Shetland in 2003 and quickly became known for its tattie bread, sourdough, and puckle loaves.
Its products, including loaves, rolls, pastries, cakes, and pancakes, were sold in shops and cafes across Shetland.
But the impact of the Covid pandemic, alongside a lack of capital amid other cashflow pressures, has forced the bakery out of business.
Waas Bakery’s nine employees have all been made redundant, and administrators from Interpath Advisory have been called in.
Saltness Ltd, the company which owns the property from which the bakery has traded, has also been forced to call in the administrators.
“It is hugely disappointing that Walls Bakery, which has been an important part of the Walls community in Shetland, is no longer able to continue to trade,” Geoff Jacobs, a managing director at Interpath Advisory, said.
“We would advise that any parties who have an interest in the bakery operation or the property contact the joint administrators in early course as there remains an opportunity to acquire this well-established local business.”
Blair Nimmo, the chief executive of Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “Clearly this is disappointing news for this well-known local business, not least for the company’s dedicated employees.
“Our in-house specialist employee team will seek to support staff with the provision of information needed at this time and to claim their statutory entitlements from the Redundancy Payments Office. We are also committed to ensuring that the optimum outcome for creditors is achieved.”
The current owner took over the bakery and premises in 2016.
