Kingsmill owner cleared to create UK’s biggest bread brand with Hovis takeover

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The £75m takeover of Hovis by Associated British Foods was cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority on the grounds that without the deal ABF’s bakery arm Allied Bakeries — which owns Kingsmill, Allinson’s and Sunblest — would likely exit the UK market entirely. The merger combines ABF’s nationwide distribution network with Hovis’s brand portfolio (including Mother’s Pride and Ormo), while the CMA noted Allied Bakeries had run up losses over 14 years amid declining sliced-bread demand and rising costs. ABF expects the tie-up to yield job losses as production and distribution are integrated.