Allied Bakeries has cleared out Hovis’ remaining board members following the completion of the takeover last week. It comes as the latest accounts for Hovis revealed tumbling volumes and pre-tax losses more than doubling to £20.3m.
Chief commercial officer Alistair Gaunt, chief operations officer Chris Bradley and chief finance officer Jamie McComasky have all departed the business after its acquisition by Allied Bakeries. Their departures follows that of former CEO Jon Jenkins, who left Hovis shortly after the deal was announced in August 2025.
On the day of completion, the combined business was renamed to Hovis Bakeries. It is led by former Allied Bakeries CEO Sarah Arrowsmith, with Allied financial director Graeme Burnett continuing in his role.
Fresh Companies House documents revealed this week that Hovis Group’s turnover fell 3.8% to £430m in the year to 28 September 2025, with volumes down by 2.9%. The year also saw Hovis swing into an operating loss for the first time since 2022, at £8.7m in the red. It made a £2.5m operating profit the prior year.
Hovis blamed the fall in volumes on a tough bread market and delistings, though said it had won “significant” new private-label listings with a national retailer. The decline in the company’s revenues was also offset by growth in its logistics business, which carries competitor products for an unnamed major retailer.
Arrowsmith said Hovis’ latest financial results were “in line with what was expected”.
In an exclusive interview with The Grocer last week, Arrowsmith said Allied would spend the first few weeks of its ownership understanding Hovis’ exact financial and operational position, before using that knowledge to tweak its strategy for the merger.
ABF has acknowledged the merger would prove a blow to its profits in 2027, but said it would help return both Allied and Hovis to growth and profitability. The company has secured agreements for funding from ABF that Arrowsmith said would fund significant new marketing and NPD initiatives to revitalise sales and bring the brands back into “relevance” after years in decline.
“We want to come out fighting,” Arrowsmith said.
Hovis Bakeries now has 26 sites across the UK, with around 5,500 employees, though the company will undergo a significant restructure following the merger.
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