Bernard Matthews warns of more closures after Derby factory axe

Bernard Matthews has warned that more food manufacturing sites and farms could close unless the government acts to strengthen Britain’s food supply chain after announcing the closure of its Derby processing plant with the loss of about 600 jobs.

The poultry producer’s facility on Shaftesbury Street South is set to shut later this year, following what the company says have been sustained financial losses and a series of economic and geopolitical pressures.

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Bernard Matthews cited the impact of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East among the factors that have contributed to rising costs and operational challenges.

Processing work currently carried out at the Derby site is understood to be transferred to other facilities operated by the company.

Describing itself as a “proud British food business”, Bernard Matthews said it had spent the past two years urging the government to take action to protect what it believes is an increasingly fragile food supply chain.

A company spokesman said: “Farmers and food producers face rising costs and increasing complexity, which are restricting growth, driving food inflation and undermining the UK’s food security.

“Without targeted government action on supply chain resilience, planning reform and taxation, we fear more farms and food manufacturing sites will close, increasing the UK’s reliance on lower-quality imports and weakening food and national security.”

Industry reaction to the planned closure reflects this sentiment too.

NFU Poultry Board chairman Will Raw said that with increasing demand for high quality and nutritious poultry products in the UK, this sector should be one in growth but that barriers around planning and investment are holding it back.

“While we’re not expecting this manufacturing facility closure to directly impact producers, it does reflect the lack of confidence and issues around resilience which run right through the supply chain, from farm to fork,” he said.

Bernard Matthews is best known for its turkey products and was acquired in 2016 by Ranjit Singh Boparan, founder of the 2 Sisters Food Group, six years after the death of the company’s founder, Bernard Matthews.

The Derby site is not the first Bernard Matthews facility to close under its current ownership. In 2024, the company shut its factory at Great Witchingham in Norfolk, close to where Bernard Matthews established the business in 1955.

The company continues to operate processing and production sites in Sunderland and Holton, Suffolk.

Government response

Responding to the Derby closure, a UK government spokesman said it was a “commercial decision for Bernard Matthews”.

The spokesman added: “We are building stronger, more resilient food supply chains by working with industry and strengthening domestic food security, including through our Farming and Food Partnership Board.”