Coughlans Bakery closure hit on Tuesday, when the 89-year-old chain ceased trading and went into voluntary liquidation. The move was designed to keep suppliers and employees paid as the business unwound.
Sean Coughlan said higher employer national insurance contributions, high business rates, a £20,000-a-week fuel hit after the conflict in the Middle East, and recent heatwaves pushed the bakery over the edge. During the hot weather, he said the business made about 50% of its normal weekly takings while outgoings stayed exactly the same.
Romesh Ranganathan and 2024
Romesh Ranganathan became co-owner in 2024 and had called the deal "the partnership of the century". He reposted Sean Coughlan's video to his 1.4m followers and wrote, "Gutted isn't the word."
Coughlan, who described Ranganathan as "amazing," added, "I feel like we've absolutely let him down. Everything he's done, it's been from the heart," a blunt sign of how abruptly the business moved from expansion hopes to liquidation. The chain's shops across Kent, Surrey, West Sussex and south London now face the practical reality of a shutdown being handled through the liquidation process rather than an orderly sale.
Kent, Surrey, West Sussex and south London
Those locations matter because the closure reaches beyond a single high street branch and into a wider regional network. Customers with orders, local suppliers and staff across the estate are now tied to the liquidation timetable, with the firm's stated aim being to preserve payment for suppliers and employees.
The unresolved issue is the scale of the trading losses that forced the decision. What is clear is that the final pressure came from costs that rose faster than takings, leaving an 89-year run to end on Tuesday rather than continue into another trading week.
