An Oldham bakery, which has been run by a family for six generations, has put its shop up for sale after more than 50 years in the borough.

Robinsons Family Artisan Bakery was established in 1864 and ran under the name Hollinsworth, before it changed to its current name and relocated to Failsworth in 1968.

The bakery describes itself as Greater Manchester’s oldest family-run craft bakery.

Despite its long history, the shop is now on the market less than a year after David Robinson, who runs the bakery with his family, voiced concerns over whether it could survive the cost-of-living crisis.

Speaking last September when the business faced a dramatic rise in its energy bill, David, a classically trained baker who has worked in the bakery his entire life, said: “What we're going through at the moment is the scariest situation I've been in throughout my whole career.”

He warned that for the business to be saved, energy prices would need to be frozen.

"The only thing that will help us is a freeze on unit cost”, he said explaining that before the cost-of-living crisis, the bakery would pay about £18,000 in energy per year, but now, the cheapest quote they are looking at for a year is £72,000.

Now 10 months later the bakery has announced the time has come to close.

A post on the bakery’s Facebook page published over the weekend by David’s daughter Grace, who helps to make the bakes, reads: “Well the time has come for us to put our bakery up for sale.

“As crazy as this is, as we are busier than ever, it is the right decision for us as a family.

“Mum and dad are ready to retire, and the chance of a lifetime has come my way.

“Don’t worry, we will be here, doing exactly what we do best, for as long as it takes to find the right new people to guide our fabulous team into the future and be part of our amazing community here in Failsworth.

“If this is you or know someone it would be perfect for please get in touch.

“Grace, Emma, Sue, and David.”

Speaking this week, Mr Robinson said that the “main reason” behind the sale was that he and his wife Sue want to retire, and his daughters, who now mainly run the business, have other opportunities they want to pursue.

He said: “I’m 69 and I’ve been doing it all my life since I was 16 so I feel I deserve a rest now.

“We’re hoping someone will take the bakery on and continue making fantastic products.”

Mr Robinson initially worked alongside his parents in the bakery before taking it over.

Reflecting on the sale, he said: “I will miss the customers I’ve done it all my life and I’ve not really known anything else so it will probably come as a shock to the system.”

Turning to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the business, he said: “It has been quite stressful over the last 12 months or so in terms of the energy crisis and the cost of ingredients, but we are still very very busy.

“It’s a busy bakery and a busy shop so whilst prices have gone up and we’ve had to put some of our prices up slightly we are still very busy.”