Cornish Bakery appoints first property director as it looks ahead to major expansion
Cornish Bakery has appointed Jeremy Smith as its first property director after identifying target locations that will allow the business to grow from its current 66 bakeries to 411 locations nationwide.
With over 30 years of experience in property acquisition and estate management, Smith has previously worked as property director with Crew Clothing and Mothercare, as well as FatFace where he helped grow the lifestyle fashion brand from 70 to 181 stores.
Most recently, he was property director at The Works where he managed a 500-strong store estate.
In his new role, Smith will work closely alongside Cornish Bakery managing director Mat Finch to acquire leasehold shops in the strategic locations.
From its origins in a small fishing village in Cornwall, Cornish Bakery has traditionally opened stores in tourist hotspots, but has now moved into high streets, retail outlet centres, motorway services, and event spaces such as the NEC in Birmingham.
The company has been working with an independent consultancy on a scalability assessment and location planning strategy and has now identified target locations that will allow it to grow to 411 locations.
Cornish Bakery managing director Mat Finch explained: “The consultancy work has validated our belief that ‘bakery is the new coffee shop’ whilst confirming that there is a significant opportunity to grow Cornish Bakery across the UK.
“Customers are increasingly looking for food that isn’t wrapped in plastic, seeking something that is tasty and freshly baked every day.
“We are seizing the opportunity to bring our offering to more high streets, shopping outlets and tourist hotspots and I am delighted that Jeremy is joining us at this key stage of our journey to lead the charge in our expansion.”
Cornish Bakery has seen 9% like-for-like sales growth since the start of 2025 after reporting record Easter and May Bank holiday performances.