ABF’s Allied Bakeries has renamed itself as Hovis Bakeries, after completing the acquisition of its former arch-competitor this morning.
Sarah Arrowsmith, Allied’s CEO, has taken charge of the merged company, with Allied finance director Graeme Burnett leading its financial team.
Hovis Bakeries now has 26 sites across the UK, with around 5,500 employees. The deal’s completion followed final approval from the UK markets watchdog in mid-June after 10 months of inquiry.
Though Hovis Bakeries’ profits will be diluted in its first year, ABF CEO George Weston said the transaction was a “significant step” towards building a profitable UK bread bsuiness.
“By combining our expertise, scale and capabilities with targeted investment into new product categories, this business can return to growth, provide greater consumer choice, serve our customers better than ever and so create value for shareholders,” he said.
Speaking exclusively to The Grocer, Arrowsmith said ABF had earmarked funds to invest immediately in marketing and manufacturing to propel the Hovis and Kingsmill brands back to relevance after years of volume declines.
“We need to make sure we come out fighting,” Arrowsmith said.
“I would expect to see some really exciting innovation in early 2027. We’ll be running hard commercially in the first six months to make sure we come out ready to drive the category forward – that’s what really matters.”
Hovis and Kingsmill take 30.6% of branded plant bread sales between them, compared with Warburtons’ 47.2% [NIQ 52 w/e 21 February 2026], and manufacture a large proportion of the UK’s own-label bread, which, according to Arrowsmith, has faced a decline similar to that of branded bread.
Around £10m will be dedicated to Hovis marketing spend over the next year – with TV spots under the tagline ‘Strength Baked In’ to launch in September 2026, and future marketing to focus on Hovis’s heritage as a health-first brand.
Arrowsmith called the brand a “national institution” – but added that it had fallen out of relevance as its ownership structure under private equity giant Endless had not allowed the mostly loss-making Hovis to invest.
Allied’s Kingsmill, Allinson’s and Sunblest brands will be retained in the immediate future.
The first few weeks post-completion will be dedicated to understanding Hovis’ exact financial and strategic position. As a Hovis competitor, Allied has thus far been denied access to Hovis’s most sensitive information, and the company said it would need to make sure its plan “matches reality” in the immediate future.
The business will then appoint its senior team, headed by Arrowsmith and Burnett.
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