Overview

• ABF has reached a binding agreement to acquire Hovis from private equity owner Endless for around £70 million, merging Britain’s second- and third-largest packaged-bread brands.
• The transaction will integrate the production and distribution networks of Hovis and ABF’s Allied Bakeries to drive significant cost synergies and restore profitability in a shrinking sliced-bread sector.
• Hovis’s latest accounts show sales fell almost 9% to £447 million for the year to September 2024 and pre-tax losses widened to £4.7 million, while Allied Bakeries reported operating losses of about £30 million.
• The Competition and Markets Authority is set to review the deal for up to a year, focusing on potential impacts on market concentration, consumer choice and rivalry with supermarket own brands and Warburtons.
• Analysts warn the integration is likely to prompt depot closures and job cuts as the combined business restructures to meet efficiency targets.