Brake Bros makes first profit since 2018 after revenue jumps by £1bn

Food and distribution company Brake Bros returned to profit for the first time since 2018 after its revenue increased by £1bn during its latest financial year.

Newly-filed accounts for the Kent-headquartered business, which include its parent company Sysco’s operations in Sweden and France, show the firm made a pre-tax profit of £33.7m in the year to July 2, 2023, up from a loss of £57.2m.

The last time Brake Bros made a pre-tax profit was the £39.3m it achieved in the year to July 2018.

Since then, the company’s pre-tax losses have totalled more than £530m.

The newly-filed accounts also show that Brake Bros’ revenue increased from £3.8bn to £4.8bn during the year.

Its UK and Ireland revenue increased from £2.1bn to £2.8bn, from £1.1bn to £1.3bn in France and from £570.9m to £649.6m in Sweden.

During the year the average number of people employed by Brake Bros increased from 12,824 to 14,851.

Brake Bros has been a subsidiary of Sysco Corporation since July 2016 when it was bought for $3.1bn.

At the time, it was reported that the food supplier had been considering a flotation on the London Stock Exchange.

Brake Bros had been majority owned by private equity group Bain Capital after it took the company private for around £1.3bn in 2007.

The business was founded Brake Bros (Poultry Packers) Ltd in 1958 by brothers William, Frank and Peter Brake.

The company hit the headlines in November 2023 when a pay deal was agreed with around 400 Unite union members based at its site in Newhouse, Motherwell.

During the same month, Sysco GB announced a £15m investment in its Brakes Scotland Newhouse depot, creating around 100 new jobs.