Peters Bakery in Durham goes into administration
A County Durham based bakery, Peters Cathedral Bakers, has gone into administration, threatening 400 jobs.
The company, which trades as Peters Bakers, owns 58 shops in the north-east of England.
Administrators KPMG said it had been hit by the "rising costs of raw materials, energy prices and an increasingly tough retail environment".
It said the company would continue to trade until a buyer could be found, but warned redundancies were expected.
The shops, a 50,000 sq ft factory and a direct mobile sales operation all face closure.
The main factory in Durham was refurbished and kitted out with state-of-the-art equipment after a fire seven years ago.
Mark Firmin, KPMG's northern head of restructuring and joint administrator, said: "The challenging retail environment on the high street is exacerbated by rising commodity and energy prices.
"These factors, along with reduced volumes with its wholesale customers, has led to the failure of this 46-year-old family business."
Recent financial statements show Peters Bakery, which supplies some of the UK's biggest supermarkets, had a turnover of more than £12m, KPMG said.