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Bakkavor CEO Agust Gudmundsson is to retire next month to be replaced by current COO Mike Edwards.

The group has announced that Gudmundsson will retire with effect from 31 October

Gudmundsson, having founded the business 36 years ago with his brother and board member Lydur Gudmundsson, will remain a significant shareholder of the company and become a non-executive director on the group board.

Following a “thorough search of the market to identify a successor”, Bakkavor has appointed current chief operating officer Mike Edwards as his successor.

Edwards will start as group CEO on 1 November.

He joined Bakkavor in 2001 and was promoted into a series of “challenging and demanding” roles before becoming COO, UK, in 2014.

The group stated: “His leadership of the UK business has been exceptional and his insight and commercial experience has made an invaluable contribution to the group board”, which he joined in December 2020.

Chairman Simon Burke commented: “Chairmen normally thank an outgoing CEO with a couple of polite sentences, but in this case that will really not suffice. The founding and building of Bakkavor by Agust, along with his brother Lydur and their col-leagues, has all the hallmarks of a great entrepreneurial endeavour.

“It has created a first-class business with strong market positions and great opportunities, one of the global leaders in its sector. Vision, courage, steadfastness, loyalty and the highest standards of professionalism have all been key elements of Agust’s leadership. I have been proud to work with him and am very glad that we will continue to benefit from his input as a member of our board.

“One of the characteristics of a successful leader is the quality of the team they build around them, and there is no better testament to this than the appointment of Mike as our new CEO. Mike has delivered operational excellence, strong customer relationships and consistent commercial performance in our UK business and I am greatly looking forward to working with him on the next stage of Bakkavor’s development.”

Gudmundsson added: “After 36 years at the helm, I am incredibly proud of the company we have built and the teams and people I have worked with during this time. The past few years have demonstrated the strength and resilience of Bakkavor and I am confident of the Group’s success for the future.

“I am particularly pleased that Mike will be spearheading the Group’s future direction. He has provided trusted counsel to me for over 15 years and has delivered both growth and stability in the most challenging of environments. I wish him all the very best success in this new role and opportunity.”

Edwards commented: “Joining the business over 20 years ago as a manufacturing manager at one of our pizza factories, I never expected to have the honour of being appointed CEO of Bakkavor.

“Whilst this is a particularly challenging environment, I absolutely believe challenges create opportunities and we are incredibly well placed, as a Bakkavor team, to move forward positively and purposefully delivering for colleagues, customers and shareholders.”

Morning update

Pub group Mitchells & Butler has announced like-for-like sales edged up in the fourth quarter, despite the ongoing impact of extreme heat as well as further rail strikes, both of which disrupted trade.

Sales over the August bank holiday were “encouraging”, with like-for-like growth over the three-day weekend of over 6%, before returning to levels consistent with the quarter as a whole.

Growth continues to be driven by food sales with the strongest performances in our premium, food-led brands.

For the quarter total like for like sales were up 1.5% against pre-Covid 2019 levels, with food up 4.1% and drink down 1%.

For the full year like for like sales were down 0.9% excluding the benefit from the temporary VAT cut, which raised like for like growth to 1.1%.

Total sales declined by 1.3% in the year driven mainly by temporary Covid-related closures in the first part of the year and site disposals since 2019.

The group said inflationary cost pressures presented an increasing challenge to its business and the wider industry through the second half of the year, initially concentrated in the areas of energy, wages and food costs but are now evident throughout most of the supply chain.

It said it continues to work hard to mitigate as much of the impact of these cost increases, both through driving sales growth and identifying and implementing further cost efficiencies in the business.

CEO Phil Urban commented: “The trading environment for the hospitality sector remains very challenging, with cost inflation putting increasing pressure on margins, and we are also mindful of the pressures on the UK consumer over the coming months.

“We remain focused on the delivery of our Ignite programme of initiatives, driving sales and delivering cost efficiencies. This will, combined with our diverse portfolio of well-known brands and strong estate locations, put us in a stronger competitive position to face the challenges ahead.”

English wine producer Gusbourne more than doubled sales in the first half of the year as demand for English wines continued to growth.

Net revenue in the six months to 30 June were up by 108% to £3m.

Gross profits also rose 118% to £1.8m, while adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed to £697k from £945k.

The loss includes increased investment in sales and marketing to support sales growth but demonstrates a 26% reduction in the loss compared to the prior period, as the company increasingly works towards a positive adjusted EBITDA.

UK Trade sales were up by 126% at £1.35m the channel continued to recover from the prior year effects of COVID-19.

Direct to consumer wine sales, together with tour, tasting events and related income increased to 66% to £833k, driven by online sales and cellar door operations in Kent.

International sales were up 158% at £798k, with Norway, USA and Japan constituting our largest overseas markets

CEO and chief winemaker Charlie Holland commented: “I am delighted to report strong sales growth for the first six months of 2022, with net revenue more than double the same period in 2021. We continue to enjoy strong demand for Gusbourne wines driven by the continued expansion of our customer base, both in the UK and internationally. It also reflects the luxury appeal and reputation of the Gusbourne brand, the dynamic growth of the English wine sector and the increasing demand for English wines.

“I am very pleased the company has been able to acquire the additional freehold land in Kent, which, will form a key part of our production expansion plans over the coming years”.

Additionally, it reported a £6m increase in its asset-based financing facilities from PNC which will provide combined lending facilities of £16.5m for a further 5 years and “provide valued long term support for the company’s further growth plans”.

Later this morning we are expecting trading updates from The Co-op Group and McBride.

On the markets this morning, the FTSE 100 has plunged 2.2% to 6,853.1pts amid wider economic concerns in the UK, a further fall in the pound and Bank of England action to prop up bond markets.

Early fallers include Ocado, down 6.6% to 487p, THG, down 6.5% to 38p, Marks & Spencer, down 6.4% to 97p and FeverTree Drinks, down 5.4% to 822.5p.

Risers include Naked Wines, up 2.5% to 84.3p, McBride, up 1.4% to 24p and Nichols, up 0.6% to 1,119p.

Yesterday in the City

The FTSE closed the day up 0.3% at 7,005.3pts yesterday.

Fallers included AG Barr, following its results on Tuesday, down 5% to 467p, Bakkavor, down 4.6% to 86p, Sainsbury’s, down 3.6% to 182.4p, Ocado, down 3.5% to 522.4p, Naked Wines, down 3.2% to 82.3p, Coca-Cola HBC, down 2.9% to 1,888p, Hilton Food Group, down 2.8% to 548p and C&C Group, down 2.3% to 147.5p.

The day’s risers included Glanbia, down 4.9% to €12.38, Deliveroo, up 3.8% to 87.8p, Just Eat Takeaway.com, up 3.8% to 1,488p, Marks & Spencer, up 1.4% to 103.7p, Greencore, up 1.4% to 75.2p, McBride, up 1.3% to 23.7p, THG, up 1.2% to 40.7p and Nichols, up 1.1% to 1,112.5p.

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