Eats

Trove breaks silence on shock closure and confirms Levenshulme site will also close

'Our failure has been trying to keep something going that we were emotionally attached to, when we should have ended it.'

Daisy Jackson - 5th June 2024

Trove has broken its silence on the shock closure of its Ancoats bakery, and confirmed that its original Levenshulme site is also closing.

The bakery and cafe was first founded all the way back in 2011 and has always been a big name in Manchester’s food and drink scene.

Fans of the brand were shocked this week when its Ancoats location – which had already abandoned its cafe operation in favour of being a bakery – suddenly closed, with a forfeiture notice plastered in the windows.

And now Trove has confirmed that all of its locations around the north west, including its brand-new site in Wilmslow and its original cafe in Levenshulme, are to close.

In a statement shared this afternoon and signed by husband-and-wife co-founder team Marcus and Katy, they wrote that the business has been struggling ever since Covid.

They wrote: “We have been struggling mentally, physically and financially for a while.”

Their statement also said: “Our failure has been trying to keep something going that we were emotionally attached to, when we should have ended it.”

Trove also apologised to customers and employees ‘who have felt let down’, adding that they always had ‘good intentions’.

Trove had already shut its Stockport bakery, moving operations into its Ancoats location, and shuttered its unit inside the Bloc building in the city centre.

Companies House documents for Trove’s parent company Two Hexagons Ltd show that the business is in more than £1.6m of debt, including owing HMRC approximately £885,000.

Trove’s full statement says: “We wanted to leave a note here for everyone we have worked with over the years and the customers who supported us. Today we have sadly decided to close all Trove sites.

“We have been struggling mentally, physically and financially for a while, especially after covid.

“Our failure has been trying to keep something going that we were emotionally attached to, when we should have ended it.

“We are so sorry to any of our customers and employees who have felt let down. We have only ever had kindness in our hearts and good intentions.

“We have enjoyed being part of the Manchester food scene, the many people we have known and loved.

“Thank you to all who have worked for us. Thank you to the people who continued to support us through hard times. Thank you also to everyone who has contacted us with words of kindness recently. Your words have meant a lot.

“It is a very difficult world at the moment. Especially for small businesses and food producers. Please be kind to others, neighbours, friends, strangers. You never know who needs it.

“Our hearts are broken. So much love to you all, Marcus & Katy.”

Featured image: The Manc Group