The owners of a fast-expanding Suffolk bakery group are celebrating soaring sales.

Eastern Daily Press: Limoncello, lemon and thyme cakes baked at Two Magpies Picture; TWO MAGPIESLimoncello, lemon and thyme cakes baked at Two Magpies Picture; TWO MAGPIES (Image: Two Magpies)

Two Magpies, which since this year has sites at Southwold, Aldeburgh and Darsham, expects to nearly quadruple its sales since last year, with turnover rocketing from £720k to an estimated £2.5m.

The group, owned by husband and wife team Rebecca Bishop and Steve Magnall, has gone from just one site to three in just six months.

Two Magpies Bakery, based in Southwold, which produces all its own bread, cakes and pastries on site, bought a second bakery in Aldeburgh last September, followed by a third site in Darsham, which opened in April.

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The strong sales at the three bakeries have exceeded all expectations and the business is now expecting to reach the £2.5m mark by the end of the year.

The business was launched by Rebecca Bishop six years ago, and she now works husband, Steve Magnall, who previously ran St Peter's Brewery near Bungay.

"Our three bakeries are allowing us to produce more bakes and serve more customers and in just six months we've gone from 18 covers in Southwold to over 100 across the three sites," said Steve. "At the new Darsham site we are able to bake more and run our popular cookery school courses, which allows us to concentrate on serving customers and selling more baked goods through our three cafes."

The immediate popularity of the Aldeburgh site surpassed all expectations, becoming the most profitable bakery in the group and serving more than 70 covers a day.

"Aldeburgh has a thriving high street, which makes it a perfect location for us and we've quickly built a very loyal customer base. Our Southwold site is still incredibly popular and Darsham is receiving both a good passing trade, as well as a regular customer base. It's now being described as the 'place to go for coffee on the A12'," said Steve.

Two Magpies prides itself on producing all its bakes on site, including long-fermented breads, hand-laminated pastries and a range of fresh cakes.

It is continuously experimenting with new recipes and flavours, and also produces vegan options, as well as holding pizza nights.

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