Celebration cakes all round!

Mabgate resident The Wren Bakery is celebrating a very successful first year at the mills and its first graduation ceremony.

Founded in 2019, the Wren Bakery moved to Mabgate Mills to expand its social enterprise. The charity provides employability skills training to women in Leeds for whom the challenges they face have a devastating impact on their lives and their ability to work.

This includes women who live with domestic violence, criminal records, addictions, poor mental health and barriers that exclude them from participating in society.

4 women on the charity’s training programme have just passed all the elements of the course and have the certificates to prove it.

Commenting on their success, The Wren Bakery founder Clare Sanderson said: “We are over the moon for our first graduates, they have all done brilliantly. Now they have the skills, experience and confidence needed to seek out permanent employment – in fact two have already got great new jobs.

It has been such a positive time for us since we moved to Mill 6. Taking over the coffee shop that was here previously and setting up the bakery has given us a fantastic base. The whole Mabgate community has been incredibly supportive, we are already developing several exciting collaborations with neighbouring businesses.”

Richard Fraser, director at Carter Towler, Mabgate Mills letting  agent, added: “Seeing how well The Wren Bakery has settled in at Mabgate Mills is really encouraging. They have provided a wonderful facility for both the other Mabgate occupiers and their visitors to use and enjoy. It has also provided an amazing opportunity for the women that have been trained so successfully.

There is a range of other incubator units, studio and office spaces available at Mabgate Mills on flexible terms if other businesses are looking to join a vibrant business community close to the city centre, with an excellent café!”