Sales at Genius Foods have plunged by almost a fifth as the gluten-free baker struggled with a long-running turnaround attempt.
The company, owned by German confectionery group Katjes, remained in the red in 2024 but said in newly filed accounts the year marked “clear progress” toward it being “a more resilient, margin-led business”.
A continued withdrawal from European markets to allow greater focus on the UK led to a 19.3% fall in revenues to £23.9m in the 12 months to 31 December 2024. An unplanned outage in the bread production line during the summer also hurt sales as it caused temporary UK stock shortages.
Turnover at Genius has now halved from its peak of almost £50m in 2015 as fierce competition in the gluten-free space, predominantly from Warburtons, has eroded its share, alongside market exits from the US and Australia.
Despite the tumbling top line in 2024, the group reduced operating losses from £3.2m to £2m during the year and pre-tax losses from £3.7m to £2.8m thanks to tighter cost controls and improvements in the operational performance.
Gross margins increased from 32% to 36% year on year, which the business praised as a “significant step-change in profitability”.
Cumulative losses racked up by the business now stand at £47.4m since Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne set up Genius in 2009.
The Companies House accounts called 2024 a year marked by “sharpened strategic focus, disciplined execution and continued improvement in the group’s financial and operational profile” as it focused on strengthening underlying profitability.
COO Simon Wrench, who is spearheading the turnaround strategy alongside CEO Stephen Hann, said Genius was on track to return to profitability at an operating level in 2025.
“We’ve streamlined our operations and focused hard on efficiency without compromising quality,” he added. “These efforts have already delivered meaningful savings and operational resilience – and we’re confident we will close the 2025 financial year delivering further improved financial strength.
“With strong momentum, major new contracts and a renewed pipeline of product innovation, it’s an incredibly exciting time for the business and I am very proud of the speed at which we are progressing in a promising direction.”
Katjes acquired Genius in 2022 but has initially struggled to steady the ship as it haemorrhaged sales and continued to lose money.
It was forced to inject a further £4m into Genius in 2024, on top of a £5m loan facility, to keep the business afloat, as reported by The Grocer in April.
The latest accounts showed Katjes pumped another £1.2m into the business following the year end over the period to June 2025.
Genius also breached its banking covenants in 2024, which has now been rectified with new agreements in place linked to EBITDA forecasts.
Auditors of the accounts from RSM noted that if profit forecasts were not met it could lead to a future covenant breach, which meant a material uncertainty existed that “may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern”.
However, Genius added in the accounts it had received a letter of support from Katjes in relation to the going concern basis pledging support for the company and promising not to recall any outstanding loans within the next 12 months.
“Genius looks forward to 2026, and, working closely with Katjes, will continue to focus on brand building, simplifying operations, scaling high-quality, profitable core products within the UK market,” the accounts said.
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