Baking in Excellence: FMS Delivers Critical Infrastructure for Brioche Pasquier
Facilities Management Solutions (FMS) was approached by Brioche Pasquier UK, a prestigious French bakery brand with UK premises in Milton Keynes, to deliver critical infrastructure for a major production line expansion. This complex project forms the foundation of a wider £20 million investment in their UK operations. The scope included the design and build of cold rooms, flammable and chemical storage, washrooms, and a pre-mix room, all within a live food production site – a highly sensitive and high-specification setting.
Site Preparation
Client Vision
Brioche Pasquier is renowned for their exceptionally high standards in cleanliness, precision, and production efficiency. Their goal was to install a new production line, which required the construction of several critical support facilities. Although the project took place within an active bakery site, it was carefully designed and executed in a fully segregated area, ensuring that live production activities remained completely unaffected. This separation allowed operations to continue uninterrupted, while still maintaining stringent hygiene and audit standards throughout the construction phase.
The project demanded the highest levels of diligence and coordination. FMS was tasked not only with overseeing the physical construction but also with managing a large and varied team of over 70 contractors from 12 specialist organisations, spanning drainage, steelwork, flooring, industrial door installation, pipe work, structural design, tiling, and specialist cold storage.
From the outset, Brioche Pasquier’s meticulous approach shaped the design process. Numerous meetings, Teams calls, and design iterations were required for approvals, with stakeholders in both the UK and France contributing. This was a significant and collaborative undertaking, and FMS ensured each request – however technical – was swiftly translated into updated drawings and specifications.
One notable design revision included the introduction of a 1 tonne distribution panel, which required the reengineering of the gantry support system to safely accommodate the load. Structural engineers, design consultants, and contractors were brought together to devise an appropriate solution.
Drainage
Our Delivery
FMS began groundwork just before Christmas 2024, pushing on through challenging circumstances with an ambitious targets. The works involved:
- Installation of high-spec cold rooms with food-safe Quadcore panels
- Construction of flammable and chemical storage zones
- Delivery of a new washroom, upgraded with bespoke linear drainage systems sourced from Denmark
- Steel gantries, walkways, cat ladders, and link bridges to support workflow and safe access
- Implementation of specialist polymer composite kerbs and impact-resistant stainless steel bollards
- Groundwork and reinstatement of flooring, with drainage depths requiring advanced concrete cutting and excavation
- Integration of high-performance doors, including Hörmann sectional and rapid roll Negeco doors
This was no off-the-shelf build. Each system and feature had to meet bespoke functional, hygiene, and operational standards – from the anti-slip hexagonal tiles in the pre-mix room to the ceiling-mounted handrails and fire-rated wall and ceiling panels.
Cold Stores
Contractors and Collaboration
FMS orchestrated an exceptional group of specialist contractors:
- Cold store specialists
- PGS (sister company) – cold water feed and waste AHU installation
- Preferred tiler – previously contracted by Brioche Pasquier for specialist tiling
- Groundworks and concrete cutting specialists – excavation for drainage
- Structural engineers and steel fabricators
- Design consultants and electrical teams
- Health and safety auditors and compliance officers
The challenge was compounded by simultaneous projects onsite – including a solar panel installation (also managed by FMS) and Brioche Pasquier’s direct management of the production line install. Our deliverables had to be precisely timed to enable French installation teams to arrive on schedule – with their travel, accommodation, and visas already arranged.
Failure to meet this schedule would risk a domino effect, jeopardising the entire multi-million-pound expansion. Thanks to our team’s adaptability and drive, all elements are on track, with final touches being completed in October 2025.
High Performance Doors
Maintaining Operations
All works were carried out in an area of a live food production facility, which demanded a gold standard of cleanliness, dust control, and segregation. Brioche Pasquier is regularly audited by its clients, and any deviation from safety standards could result in temporary plant closure – a risk FMS helped the client avoid at all costs.
We established fully enclosed work zones, carried out a robust H&S programme, and ensured compliance across every trade on site. By proactively managing risks and rapidly responding to evolving site conditions, we helped ensure that production continued without interruption throughout the build.
Pre-Mix and Washroom
Project Outcome
This ambitious infrastructure project stands as a testament to FMS’s expertise in managing complex, high-spec builds in regulated environments. While the road has had its challenges – from design iterations and supply chain delays to simultaneous projects and demanding audit standards – we have delivered a solution that meets every objective with precision.
Ryan Peters, MD of Brioche Pasquier UK, said:
“FMS have helped us with many projects on site, ranging from relatively small office and factory building works to a fully kitted out R&D lab, and now this latest, very important project linked to our 2nd phase extension, which, when completed will house 2 high-capacity production lines moving us from a throughput of 1.4 million to more than 3 million products per day at our 250,000 square ft site.
Their diligence, dedication, contract management and general ability to get the job done, whilst navigating our very bespoke requests, specifically linked to our high standard of quality, cleanliness and intricate design, all of which is done internally, show the full range of FMS project management capabilities.”
Brioche Pasquier’s cold storage, washroom, and utility infrastructure is ready to support the next stage of their expansion – a brand new production line from France, installed directly onto the infrastructure delivered by FMS.
Steel Gantry & Reinforced Ceilings
What Makes FMS Different
Where other facility management companies might falter under the pressure of conflicting demands and moving targets, FMS thrives. Our hands-on project management, specialist contractor network, and unrelenting focus on client needs allow us to deliver high-impact, zero-disruption solutions, even in the most sensitive working environments.