120-year-old Welsh family business Brace’s Bakery has invested £4m in a new production line thanks to a £2.5m finance package from HSBC UK and HSBC Equipment Finance. The new line will enable the business to expand its range and enter new markets.

Brace’s Bakery, a fourth-generation business now run by Mark and Jonathan Brace, is based in the Eastern Valleys of South Wales and supplies to all major supermarkets in South Wales and the West of England with its own brand of bakery products. The business has used the finance package to install a line to manufacture bread rolls, tea cakes and hot cross buns.

The new production line allows the business to produce up to 16,000 rolls an hour, which will add to the 1m products produced and bought every week in supermarkets and shops in the region.

Jonathan Brace, Director of Brace’s Bakery, said: “Since installing the new production line, we are now in a position to expand our volumes and offer a wider range of roll products to include tea cakes.

“We’re thankful to Sian Williams and Scott Ritchie at HSBC UK for their continued support in the expansion of our business and for making the process as seamless as possible for us. Since the production line was installed in January up until Easter, we managed to produce nearly 2m packs of six hot cross buns.”

Simon France, Deputy Head of HSBC Equipment Finance (UK), added: “We’re delighted to support such a well-respected home-grown business that has become Wales’s favourite bakery. It’s great to see Jonathan and his team expanding the business to produce a wider range of products and we’re excited to see the business continue to flourish.”