19 Liverpool Sites Set to Close as Around 100 Jobs Face Cuts 2026

Key Points

• 19 sites are going to be closed down at Sayers Bakery, as per the Liverpool Echo.
• Approximately 100 jobs are expected to be cut as a result of the closures.
• While Sayers Bakery in Liverpool has all but vanished from the centre of town, it remains a North West-based business.
• These closures are yet another cutback in Sayers’ presence in Merseyside.
• It comes after years of difficult times for the bakery business.
• In 2019, Sayers was already in administration; however, an agreement managed to secure up to 1,400 jobs while closing 11 stores and laying off around 100 staff members.

Liverpool (Liverpool standard) August 17, 2026 — Sayers Bakery is preparing to close 19 locations, putting around 100 jobs at risk, according to a report by the Liverpool Echo. The move would further reduce the presence of one of Liverpool’s best-known bakery brands across the city and wider Merseyside area.

The reported closures affect a company with deep links to Liverpool. Sayers began in the city and for decades operated bakeries and shops across Merseyside and the wider North West. However, its presence has steadily declined, particularly in uk/local/liverpool-city-centre/">Liverpool city centre, where many former branches have already disappeared.

The latest development is significant because the closures would remove 19 more locations from the company’s network and could result in approximately 100 redundancies. The available report does not identify every location affected or provide a detailed timetable for each closure.

The Liverpool Echo describes Sayers as a “Liverpool institution” and reports that the business has “largely disappeared from the city”. The brand nevertheless continues to trade in parts of the North West, meaning the closures would represent a reduction rather than the complete disappearance of Sayers Bakery.

Why are 19 Sayers locations closing?

The report available from the Liverpool Echo does not provide a full explanation from Sayers Bakery for the proposed closures. It also does not confirm whether all 19 sites will close at the same time or whether the locations are being shut as part of a wider restructuring plan.

The reported job impact is around 100 redundancies. That figure suggests the affected sites employ a substantial number of workers across retail and related operations, although the precise breakdown between full-time and part-time staff has not been published in the material available.

The closures must therefore be understood as a reported business decision rather than as evidence of a complete company collapse. Sayers remains a trading brand, but the number of shops it operates is expected to fall.

Earlier difficulties faced by the business show that Sayers has experienced pressure before. In December 2019, the company that owned Sayers and Poundbakery entered administration. A new company was formed to acquire the business, and up to 1,400 jobs were saved. However, 11 shops were closed and around 100 employees were made redundant as part of that rescue arrangement.

A later BBC report said a review found that the company’s challenging trading conditions had been partly driven by the rise in the National Living Wage. The report also said the rescued business would continue trading after the administration process.

What does the closure mean for workers?

The immediate concern for employees is job security. Around 100 jobs are reported to be at risk, but the final number of redundancies could depend on consultation, redeployment opportunities and whether any sites are sold, transferred or retained under another arrangement.

The available report does not state whether formal consultation has begun, nor does it specify the employment terms that may be offered to affected staff. Those details would be important in assessing the effect on workers and their families.

Employees at closing shops could potentially face several outcomes, including redundancy, transfer to another Sayers location or the continuation of employment if a site changes ownership. None of these outcomes should be assumed without confirmation from the company or relevant employee representatives.

The earlier 2019 rescue provides a precedent for the brand retaining most of its workforce while closing selected branches. At that time, the BBC reported that up to 1,400 jobs were saved, although 100 staff lost their jobs when 11 shops closed.

How has Sayers’ Liverpool presence changed?

Sayers’ decline in Liverpool has taken place over many years rather than through one single announcement. The company once had a much larger network of shops and production facilities in the city.

Historical reporting recorded major job losses at the former Sayers bakery site in Norris Green. The Liverpool Echo previously reported that 183 jobs were lost at the Lorenzo Drive site in 2006, with the bakery eventually closing in 2008.

The company’s earlier history also includes periods of substantial restructuring. In 2008, British Baker reported that the Lyndale Group had entered administration, resulting in the closure of the Sayers bakery in Norris Green, 41 shops across the North West and the company’s Liverpool headquarters. The report said 450 jobs were lost during that period.

That report attributed the company’s difficulties to rising raw-material, energy and fuel costs. The historical account illustrates how cost pressures have repeatedly affected the bakery sector, although it does not establish the specific cause of the latest proposed closures.

Sayers’ reduced presence has also changed the retail landscape in Liverpool. A 2025 report by The Post described the brand as having been pushed out of much of the city centre, while noting that it continued to operate in parts of the region.

Which shops are affected?

The available Liverpool Echo report states that 19 locations are being prepared for closure, but the accessible information does not list all 19 branches. It would therefore be inaccurate to name individual sites as confirmed closures without a published list from Sayers or a complete report identifying them.

Historical closure lists show that Sayers and related bakery operations have previously had shops in locations including Aigburth Road, Bold Street, Allerton Road, Walton Vale, West Derby, St Helens, Birkenhead, Runcorn and Widnes. However, those locations appeared in earlier reporting and should not be treated as a list of the branches affected by the current development.

Customers should wait for direct confirmation from Sayers, landlords or local authorities before assuming that a particular branch is included in the latest closure plan.

What has Sayers said?

The material available for this report does not include a fresh statement from Sayers Bakery confirming the full closure programme, the locations involved, the proposed timetable or the final number of redundancies.

In the company’s earlier 2019 crisis, a representative of the administrators said they were doing everything possible to support employees affected by the closure of 11 shops. The statement was reported by the BBC after the rescue deal was announced.

That earlier statement cannot be presented as the company’s response to the current closures. No current comment should be inferred from it.

A complete account of the latest development would require confirmation from Sayers Bakery, employee representatives and, where relevant, the owners of the affected premises.

How could customers and local communities be affected?

The closures could reduce access to Sayers products in neighbourhoods where the shops have served customers for many years. For some communities, the effect would be more than the loss of a retail outlet because local bakery shops can also function as familiar meeting points and convenient sources of inexpensive food.

Customers may have to travel further to reach another Sayers shop or switch to a different bakery or supermarket. The effect will vary depending on how close alternative branches are and whether the company maintains delivery or wholesale arrangements in affected areas.

The closures could also leave vacant retail units in local shopping areas. The wider impact would depend on how quickly replacement tenants are found and whether the shops are located in already weakened high streets.

For remaining Sayers branches, the reduction in the estate could bring both risks and opportunities. A smaller network may reduce operating costs, but it could also weaken the brand’s visibility and make it harder to maintain the broad local presence that helped define Sayers in the past.

Why does this matter to Liverpool?

Sayers is closely associated with Liverpool’s commercial and social history. Its shops and bakeries were once a familiar part of the city’s high streets, and the company employed generations of local workers.

The brand’s continued retreat is therefore likely to attract attention beyond the immediate job losses. It reflects the changing fortunes of an established independent-style bakery chain operating in a market where national competitors, supermarkets, food-delivery services and rising operating costs all compete for customers.

Historical reports also show that the company has previously faced closures and redundancies while continuing in a reduced form. In 2019, the rescue of Sayers and Poundbakery protected a large number of jobs, but the restructuring still resulted in shop closures and redundancies.

The current proposal to close 19 locations would extend that pattern of contraction. It does not, on the information currently available, indicate that the Sayers brand is ending altogether.

What is the background to Sayers’ decline?

Sayers Bakery has roots in Liverpool and developed into a major bakery and shop chain serving the North West. Its history has included factory operations, retail branches and periods of expansion across the region.

The business encountered serious difficulties in the 2000s. British Baker reported that rising raw-material, energy and fuel costs contributed to an operational review in 2008 and that the company entered a consultation process involving possible redundancies.

The same period saw the closure of the Norris Green bakery, which had been associated with large-scale employment in the city. Later reporting from the Liverpool Echo recalled the loss of 183 jobs in 2006 and the final closure of the Lorenzo Drive site in 2008.

Sayers faced another major crisis in 2019 when its owner entered administration. A rescue deal created Sayers and Poundbakery Ltd, allowing the businesses to continue trading and saving up to 1,400 jobs. The deal nevertheless included the closure of 11 shops and approximately 100 redundancies.

The BBC subsequently reported that rising National Living Wage costs contributed to the difficult trading conditions surrounding the administration.

The latest proposal to close 19 locations would be another major reduction in Sayers’ estate. It follows years in which the brand has retained a presence in the North West while becoming less visible in Liverpool itself.

How could the closures affect Liverpool customers and workers?

For workers, the likely effect is increased uncertainty over employment, location and income until the company confirms its consultation and redundancy arrangements. For customers, the main consequences could be fewer nearby branches, longer journeys and the loss of a familiar local bakery.

The longer-term effect will depend on whether Sayers uses the smaller network to stabilise its business or whether further closures follow. A more focused estate could help the company concentrate on profitable locations, but a continuing retreat could reduce customer loyalty and make the brand less prominent across Merseyside.

The most reliable assessment will come after Sayers publishes the locations, timetable and employment details. At present, the confirmed development is that 19 locations are reported to be closing and around 100 jobs are at risk, while the brand itself is expected to continue operating in the North West.