The East Coast Bakehouse published its much-delayed accounts for the years ending February 2023 and February 2024 which show that the company continued to be loss-making.

The company was founded by Michael Carey and Alison Cowzer in 2015.

Carey said at the time that it aimed to “provide a new commercially competitive local Irish source of biscuits”.

ADVERTISEMENT

Since then, the biscuit maker has made annual losses which have average €3.5m, for a total loss between when it was established and February 2024 of €31.6m (see Figure 1 below).

While the accounts for the year ended February 2024 show the smallest annual loss since 2016 of €2.21m, that number is flattered by a once-off exceptional gain of €2.34m resulting from the settlement of outstanding bank debt.

The accounts published for the last two years do feature profit and loss breakdowns for each year which show that the company has seen an almost doubling of revenue €11.2m in the year to February 2024. The increase in sales was substantially achieved through extra revenue from the UK market. The directors report included in those accounts said that the company has “recently achieved the level of turnover required to trade on a breakeven basis during the year ending 28 February 2026”.

EY, which has audited the company’s accounts for 2023 and 2024, noted in both years that a “material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

It said that the ability to continue as a going concern is dependent on the receipt of additional funding, directly or via its parent undertaking, and the company meeting its forecast of generating positive cashflow from operations.

At the end of February 2024 the company had assets of €11.3m and liabilities of €40.9m.

The company said an additional €4.5m in equity funding had been committed in the current year, with €4.3m of that received by the end of July 2025.

History

The company was established by Michael Carey and his wife Alison Cowzer in 2015. As the former boss of Jacob Fruitfield until its sale to Valeo Foods in 2011, Carey had significant experience in the biscuit business. He was also chair of Bord Bia when the company was founded.

Carey raised equity for the venture from a range of high-profile investors including Donard Gaynor, currently chair of Glanbia, and Stephen Twaddle, former head of Kelloggs in Europe.

Carey and Cowzer also invested through their company Kinaraville Ltd. This company is described in the Bakehouse accounts as its parent company.

Bakehouse also notes that the ultimate controlling party of the company is Michael Carey and Alison Cowzer. Kinaraville has not published company accounts since its 2022 financial year.

Bakehouse was originally established to focus on the UK biscuit market, but the Brexit vote not long after the company was founded meant a change of focus towards the domestic and European markets.

The company announced further expansion plans in 2019, backed by funding from Enterprise Ireland.

The payoff from those expansion plans was further delayed by the Covid pandemic. It warehoused some tax liabilities under the relief allowed by the Revenue Commissioners during this period.

As the company never made a profit, these liabilities consisted of €2m in PAYE/PRSI and €0.9m in VAT. The company said it has agreed a four-year repayment plan for the outstanding taxes commencing in March of 2025.

There was a significant increase in interest costs for the company in 2024, rising to €1.05m from €399,303 the previous year.

Origin Green

The company has been an annual fixture at the Cologne ISM, a major annual sweet and confectionary fair in Germany which Bord Bia has a stand showcasing Irish companies.

Bakehouse was on the Bord Bia stand in January 2025, a time when it was two years behind in publishing its company accounts.

When asked by the Irish Farmers Journal if Bord Bia required exhibitors on its stand to be fully compliant with its corporate obligations, a spokesperson for Bord Bia said: “Bord Bia does not have access to all regulatory or financial compliance data for participating companies. However, companies are assessed to ensure they are compliant with relevant sustainability legislation, in accordance with Origin Green membership.”

The East Coast Bakehouse is currently a gold member of Origin Green.