Veteran food sector boss Mark Allen is to take on the group CEO role at meat packing giant Hilton Foods, having been appointed executive chair at the supplier following Steve Murrells’ departure last autumn.
Speaking to The Grocer today after Hilton posted “resilient” preliminary accounts for 2025, ex-Dairy Crest chief Allen said returning to the day-to-day running of a major food business had not initially been “in my life plan”.
But after his appointment as Hilton’s executive chair in November, Allen admitted he “had thoroughly enjoyed it, working with great people”, while the listed company offered “lots of opportunities”.
Allen – who left Dairy Crest in 2019 after the supplier’s acquisition by Canadian dairy giant Saputo – has spent the time since in a variety of non-exec roles.
He took over the running of Hilton as executive chair in the wake of profit warnings in November, with a downturn in the company’s performance heralding ex-Co-op boss Murrells’ departure.
The supplier’s UK & Ireland CEO Matt Lee is set to leave the business as Allen takes on a more hands-on role. In a move confirmed last week, Lee will take on the newly expanded commercial role of chief business and growth officer at rival meat processor Pilgrim’s Europe in July.
Allen said his background, particularly in running Dairy Crest during the many “tough” periods seen in the dairy sector during the 2010s, meant he had the “capabilities” to get Hilton “back to where it should be”, past its current “hiccup” in performance.
“This is a great business, with great customers and great people, but at the moment it is dramatically undervalued,” he added. Hilton’s share price fell by more than 22% to just under 500p per share on 11 November and has been trading around this mark ever since.
Revenues up but profits still down
It comes as the protein giant posted a 10.3% increase in reported revenues to £4.2bn in the 52 weeks to 28 December 2025. Adjusted operated profit before tax (from continuing operations) fell by 2.1% to £69m, with adjusted earnings per share falling by 8.2% to 56p.
The company cited “continued raw material inflation” as a key driver of its fall in profitability, alongside lower volumes within its Seachill fish operation. Other factors included £27.6m in exceptional costs relating to the “operating challenges” caused by regulatory restrictions on salmon exports from its Foppen facility in Greece to the US.
Hilton’s 2026 outlook remained unchanged since its January 2026 trading update, with adjusted profit before tax expected to be in the range of £60m to £65m.
Allen said the supplier had held “initial discussions” with customers over the potential for Iran war-influenced price increases. However, he stressed the business had not seen any cost price hikes from its farmer suppliers to date, adding Hilton was “looking very closely at cost bases to see how we can do things more efficiently”.
This could include looking at opportunities to “get more volume into its manufacturing plants, as the more [meat and fish] we get through the factories the more efficient we are and the lower the unit cost”.
Hilton had now completed a strategic review of the business, “outlining a clear plan focus the business on its core capabilities and strengthen our confidence in delivering sustainable long-term growth”, Allen said. Hilton was also ”executing improvement plans” at loss-making Seachill, Foppen and its Dalco vegan business in the Netherlands, he added.
“Growth will be driven by our core meat and fresh prepared food businesses,” Allen stressed. “This is underpinned by well-invested facilities and long-term partnerships. Our strategic investments in Saudi Arabia and Canada remain on schedule.These are expected to contribute from 2027.”
Hilton’s ”strong balance sheet provides capacity to invest for growth in adisciplined way. Importantly we remain committed to our progressive dividend policy.”
Since becoming executive chair, Allen said he had been ”impressed by the commitment of our people to deliver for our customers. With a clear strategy, and strengthened leadership structure in place to execute this, I am excited about the company’s future.”
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