Last Updated: 20 April 2026
Associated British Foods plc (LSE: ABF) is a diversified British multinational with five operating divisions: Retail (Primark), Grocery, Sugar, Agriculture and Ingredients. Group revenue for the 52 weeks to 13 September 2025 was £19.46bn and adjusted operating profit was £1.70bn, down 12% as a collapse in Sugar earnings swamped the resilience of Primark and the Grocery brands Twinings and Ovaltine. The company is controlled by the Weston family via Wittington Investments, which held approximately 58% of voting rights at the end of FY25. Today's report is built ahead of the H1 FY26 interim results and structural review conclusions scheduled for release on 22 April 2026, in which management has signalled its "working assumption" is to separate Primark from the Food businesses.
1. Company Snapshot
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Associated British Foods plc |
| Ticker / ISIN | LSE: ABF / GB0006731235 |
| Sector / Industry | Consumer Staples / Diversified — Retail, Food, Sugar, Agriculture, Ingredients |
| Founded | 1935 (as Food Investments Ltd); Weston family acquired control 1935 |
| Headquarters | Weston Centre, London, United Kingdom |
| Chief Executive | George Weston (since April 2005) |
| Group Chief Financial Officer | Joana Edwards (appointed 2026, previously L'Oréal Group Financial Controller) |
| Primark CEO | Eoin Tonge (permanent from March 2026) |
| Chair | Michael McLintock |
| Market capitalisation (20 April 2026) | ~£12.94bn (share price intraday range 2,124–2,154p) |
| FY25 revenue (52 weeks to 13 Sept 2025) | £19.46bn |
| FY25 adjusted operating profit | £1.70bn (-12% YoY) |
| FY25 free cash flow | £648m |
| Net debt (FY25) | £2.6bn (leverage 1.0x) |
| Employees | ~138,000 in 56 countries |
| Primark stores (latest disclosure) | 486 stores across 19 markets |
| Fiscal year end | Saturday nearest 15 September |
| Exchange / Index | London Stock Exchange, FTSE 100 |
| Website | abf.co.uk |
2. Bull Case vs Bear Case
Written last, distilled from the body of the report. These are the strongest factual arguments on each side — not opinions, ratings or price targets.
Bull Case
- Primark growth engine is intact. Retail sales reached £9.5bn in FY25 (+1% YoY) with adjusted operating profit of £1.1bn (+2%) and an 11.9% operating margin. The store rollout programme is expected to contribute around 4% to sales growth in 2026, with new space opening in the US, Continental Europe and via franchise (first Kuwait store opened Q1 FY26).
- US footprint scaling materially. 33 US stores with 18 leases already signed, a 550,000 sq ft Jacksonville, Florida distribution centre operational, and management targeting 60 US stores by end of 2026. Q1 FY26 also delivered UK like-for-like sales growth of 1.7% and UK market share gains in a difficult retail environment.
- Structural review likely to unlock a Primark demerger. The Board confirmed separation of Primark from Food is the "working assumption", with findings to be published alongside H1 FY26 results on 22 April 2026. Rothschild is advising. The Weston family intends to retain majority control of both entities post-split.
- Grocery brands Twinings and Ovaltine keep compounding. Grocery revenue was £1.6bn in FY25 (+4%), with Twinings delivering volume-led sales growth in the UK, France and the US, and Ovaltine growing in emerging markets. Two genuinely global consumer brands inside a 20x-earnings UK conglomerate.
- Strong balance sheet and shareholder returns. FY25 leverage of 1.0x, a £500m buyback completed in August 2025, a further £250m buyback announced for FY26, and a proposed FY25 final dividend of 42.3p. Share repurchases pushed Wittington Investments' stake up, requiring the family holding to sell small parcels to maintain its ~58% ceiling.
Bear Case
- Sugar division has turned loss-making. The Sugar division swung to a material adjusted operating loss in FY25 (profit down approximately £215m YoY) driven by a European sugar price collapse, a £101m impairment of Azucarera's Spanish plant, Vivergo's adjusted operating loss (£36m on £134m of sales), and drought in South Africa plus post-2024 import overhang in Tanzania at Illovo. FY26 guidance is for a Sugar operating profit of only ~£10m.
- Primark weakening in Continental Europe. Q1 FY26 saw Continental Europe like-for-like sales down approximately 5.7%, and the January 2026 profit warning cut FY26 group adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS guidance to "below last year". The H1 FY26 is now expected to see only low single-digit Primark sales growth.
- Vivergo closure and UK government policy loss. The UK government declined to backstop Vivergo's commercial model after the May 2025 US-UK trade deal allowed duty-free US ethanol imports of up to 1.4bn litres/year. Bioethanol and animal feed production ceased by 31 August; the largest UK bioethanol plant is now being mothballed. A subsidy-dependent P&L line has failed.
- US Grocery and Ingredients softness. US consumer weakness was flagged as "more acute than anticipated" in US cooking oils and bakery ingredients in the January 2026 trading update. Both Grocery and Ingredients are now guided to FY26 adjusted operating profit moderately below FY25.
- Weston family concentration — minority risk. Wittington controls ~58% of voting rights. Minority holders have little leverage over capital allocation, board composition or the terms of any Primark demerger. Related-party dynamics (Fortnum & Mason, Heal's and Selfridges Group links historically) sit inside a trust structure that is not fully transparent.
3. What Does This Company Actually Do?
ABF runs five distinct businesses from a single listed parent. Group revenue of £19.46bn for FY25 (52 weeks ended 13 September 2025) split roughly as follows.
| Division | FY25 revenue | % of group | FY25 adj. operating profit | Key brands / assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail (Primark) | £9.5bn | ~49% | £1.1bn (+2%, margin 11.9%) | Primark, 486 stores across UK, Ireland, Continental Europe, US, Middle East (franchise) |
| Grocery | ~£3.9bn | ~20% | Down 4% at CC | Twinings, Ovaltine, Jordans, Dorset, Ryvita, Kingsmill (Allied Bakeries), ACH US (Mazola, Capullo), Patak's, Blue Dragon |
| Sugar | ~£2.6bn | ~13% | Operating loss (down ~£215m YoY) | British Sugar (UK), Azucarera (Spain), Illovo (Africa — 6 countries), Vivergo (bioethanol, closing) |
| Agriculture (AB Agri) | ~£1.7bn | ~9% | Modest decline | AB Agri — animal feed, nutrition, micro-ingredients, enzymes |
| Ingredients | ~£1.8bn | ~9% | +4% revenue growth; profit moderately below LY (FY26 guide) | AB Mauri (yeast, bakery ingredients), ABF Ingredients (enzymes, yeast extracts, speciality proteins) |
This is not a pure-play business. Primark is a fast-fashion discount retailer competing with Shein, H&M, Inditex and Uniqlo. Twinings and Ovaltine compete with Unilever and Nestlé in ambient hot drinks. British Sugar competes with Tereos, Südzucker and the spot world sugar market. AB Agri competes with Cargill and ADM in animal feed. AB Mauri competes with Lesaffre and Lallemand in yeast. The investment case has always been Primark plus four food cash flows that rhyme less and less with the retail story — which is exactly why the structural review is live.
4. The Business Model
Primark (Retail). Low-price, high-volume, store-based fashion retail. No material e-commerce transaction revenue; digital is a catalogue-plus-click-and-collect model. Margins protected by tight buying, direct sourcing relationships in Asia, controlled range width and operational leverage on large format stores. Capex is concentrated in new store fit-outs (typically 30,000–70,000 sq ft) and the Jacksonville DC in the US. FY25 adjusted operating margin 11.9%.
Grocery. Branded consumer goods, mostly ambient (tea, malted drinks, cereals, crackers, bread, cooking oils). Margins vary sharply by category — Twinings and Ovaltine deliver double-digit operating margins; Allied Bakeries/Kingsmill has been loss-making for several years, which is why ABF agreed the August 2025 Hovis acquisition to merge its UK bread business. The CMA provisionally cleared the Hovis deal for Great Britain in March 2026 but flagged Northern Ireland competition concerns; a final decision is expected by 24 June 2026.
Sugar. Beet sugar (UK, Spain, France), cane sugar (Africa via Illovo), plus the Vivergo bioethanol plant in Hull (now closing). Margins are entirely price- and regulation-dependent — EU sugar reference prices, UK Sugar Regime successor frameworks, ethanol blending mandates and tariff treatment all drive the P&L. The EU sugar price has collapsed from 2023/24 highs, beet costs inflated in 2024, and the May 2025 US-UK trade deal allowed duty-free imports of up to 1.4bn l/yr of US ethanol. ABF fully impaired the Azucarera Spanish plant and equipment at £101m in FY25, and has taken the decision to close Vivergo following the UK government's refusal to provide either short-term financial support or long-term regulatory certainty.
Agriculture (AB Agri). B2B animal feed, nutrition ingredients, micro-ingredients, enzymes, feed additives and data services (AB Vista). Competes with Cargill, ADM, Alltech. Margins mid single digit on commodity feed, higher on speciality ingredients.
Ingredients. AB Mauri is a global top-three yeast producer. ABF Ingredients covers speciality enzymes, yeast extracts and proteins. Strong pricing, long customer contracts, global plant network. FY25 revenue +4%.
Subsidy / regulatory credit dependency. Material in Sugar. UK sugar beet pricing is negotiated through the contracted-growers framework; EU beet-sugar producers are exposed to Common Market Organisation rules on imports from LDC/EPA countries. Vivergo's entire business model depended on the UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation crediting domestic bioethanol on equal terms with imports — a policy that failed in May 2025. Illovo (Africa) benefits from preferential access to EU and regional markets under EPA/SADC arrangements. Outside Sugar, no material subsidy dependency in Retail, Grocery, Agriculture or Ingredients.
5. Financial Health
All figures from ABF's November 2025 annual results announcement (FY25, 52 weeks to 13 September 2025) and the January 2026 trading update.
| Metric (£m unless stated) | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group revenue | 13,884 | 17,000 | 19,754 | 20,074 | 19,460 |
| Adjusted operating profit | 1,011 | 1,435 | 1,514 | 1,945 | 1,700 |
| Adjusted operating margin | 7.3% | 8.4% | 7.7% | 9.7% | 8.7% |
| Free cash flow | ~900 | ~750 | ~700 | ~1,300 | 648 |
| Net cash (before lease liabilities) / (net debt) | ~1,900 cash | ~1,500 cash | ~1,400 cash | ~1,044 cash | 390 cash |
| Net debt (incl. lease liabilities) | ~1,100 | ~1,700 | ~1,800 | ~2,000 | ~2,600 |
| Dividend per share (p, total) | 26.7 | 43.7 | 47.7 | 90.0 (incl. special) | 63.0 |
| Shares in issue (weighted avg, m) | ~791 | ~788 | ~778 | ~754 | ~735 |
| Divisional FY25 (52 wks) | Revenue (£bn) | Adj. operating profit | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail (Primark) | 9.5 | £1.1bn (+2%) | Total sales +1%; margin 11.9%; UK LFL -3.1% FY25 but +1.7% in Q1 FY26 |
| Grocery | ~3.9 | -4% at CC | Twinings / Ovaltine strong; Allied Bakeries losses widened; ACH US softer |
| Sugar | ~2.6 | Operating loss | Profit down ~£215m YoY; £101m Azucarera impairment; Vivergo -£36m on £134m sales |
| Agriculture | ~1.7 | Modestly down | AB Vista data services resilient; commodity feed pricing softer |
| Ingredients | ~1.8 | Moderately below LY (FY26 guide) | FY25 revenue +4%; Central/South America demand strong |
Capital returns FY25. £500m buyback launched November 2024 and completed August 2025. Total cash outflow on share repurchases in FY25 was £603m. Dividends paid £656m (including the FY24 final + special and the FY25 interim). Proposed FY25 final dividend 42.3p per share, payable 9 January 2026. A further £250m buyback was announced alongside the FY25 results, to be completed before the end of FY26.
Leverage. FY25 financial leverage ratio 1.0x. Net cash before lease liabilities fell by £654m YoY to £390m as buybacks, dividends and capex consumed cash generation that was itself depressed by sugar weakness.
6. Valuation & Market Data
Sourced from market data providers and company filings on 20 April 2026. Prices change intraday — see the ChartsView live charts for the current tape.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Share price (intraday, 20 Apr 2026) | 2,124–2,154p (open 2,138p) |
| Market capitalisation | ~£12.94bn |
| Enterprise value (approx.) | ~£15.5bn (market cap + ~£2.6bn net debt) |
| 52-week high | ~2,440p |
| 52-week low | ~1,729p |
| 1-year share price performance | Down ~14% YoY (April 2025 to April 2026) |
| P/E (trailing, on FY25 adjusted EPS) | ~14–15x (implied) |
| P/S (FY25 revenue) | ~0.67x |
| EV/EBITDA (FY25) | ~7x (approx.) |
| Price-to-FCF (FY25 FCF £648m) | ~20x |
| FY25 total dividend | 63p (interim 20.7p + final 42.3p) |
| Dividend yield (on 20 April 2026 price) | ~2.9% |
| Share buyback in force | £250m FY26 programme (announced Nov 2025) |
| Shares in issue | ~730m (post-buybacks) |
| Short interest | Not material — UK short-disclosure regime shows no individual position >0.5% at 20 April 2026 |
Note: ABF does not trade on a US exchange so there is no SEC 13F-based short interest disclosure. UK short-selling positions above 0.5% of issued share capital are disclosed via the FCA Short Position Daily List; ABF has no individual holder disclosed above that threshold in recent days.
7. What Are They Building / What's Coming?
Primark — US store rollout. 33 US stores live, 18 leases signed, 550,000 sq ft Jacksonville distribution centre supporting Southern states, target of 60 US stores. Most recent openings include El Paso, Texas; Jersey City, New Jersey; and Memphis, Tennessee.
Primark — digital. Enhanced "Click & Collect" product-available-online catalogue has been rolled across the UK estate; management described "enhanced digital capabilities" as an H2 FY25 sales driver. No direct-ship e-commerce transaction model is being built.
Primark — franchise. First franchise store opened in Kuwait in Q1 FY26. Franchise model being pursued in the Middle East as a capital-light expansion lever alongside wholly-owned stores in Europe and the US.
Primark leadership restructure. Eoin Tonge formally appointed Primark CEO (March 2026) having been interim since March 2025 and previously ABF Group Finance Director since 2023. Filip Ekvall (ex-H&M) appointed to the newly created Chief Commercial Officer role, effective 1 September 2026.
Group structural review. Findings to be published on 22 April 2026 alongside H1 FY26 interims. The Board's "working assumption" is separation of Primark from Food. Rothschild is advising. The Weston family, via Wittington, intends to retain majority control of both resulting entities. Full-form demerger documentation would follow.
Hovis acquisition. ABF agreed to acquire Hovis via ABF Grain Products Limited on 15 August 2025 to combine it with Allied Bakeries/Kingsmill. CMA provisionally cleared the Great Britain elements in March 2026 but flagged significant concerns in Northern Ireland, where the merged entity would have c.66% of bread sales and over 80% of pancakes. Interested parties had until 16 April 2026 to respond; a final CMA ruling is expected by 24 June 2026.
Vivergo closure. Wheat deliveries ceased end-July 2025; production of bioethanol and animal feed ceased by 31 August 2025; redundancies began August 2025; site mothballed.
Azucarera. Full impairment of plant and equipment (£101m) in FY25. Cost base restructuring and potential capacity reductions under review.
Share buyback. £250m buyback under the 25 February 2026 programme with Barclays Capital Securities Limited is being executed — recent cancellations include 80,000 shares on 7 April 2026 and 250,000 shares on 13 April 2026 (at an average of 1,871.8p).
8. Competitive Landscape
| ABF division | Main competitors | Competitive position |
|---|---|---|
| Primark (Retail) | Inditex (Zara), H&M, Uniqlo (Fast Retailing), Shein, Temu, George at Asda, Matalan, TK Maxx | Largest value-fashion retailer in Europe by square footage. Lower price point than Zara/H&M. Competing against Shein/Temu's ultra-low-price online model without meaningful e-commerce revenue of its own |
| Grocery — Tea (Twinings) | Unilever (PG Tips — divested; Lipton via Ekaterra), Tata Consumer, Ahmad Tea, Bettys & Taylors (Yorkshire Tea) | Global top-three premium-tea player; strongest position in UK, France, US speciality |
| Grocery — Hot drinks (Ovaltine) | Nestlé (Milo, Nesquik), Mondelēz (Cadbury Drinking Chocolate) | Strong positions in Switzerland, Thailand, Nigeria; category tailwinds in emerging markets |
| Grocery — Cereals/Bars | Kellanova, General Mills, PepsiCo (Quaker), private label | Jordans/Dorset — premium/natural niche in UK/EU |
| Grocery — UK bread (Kingsmill/Allied) | Warburtons, Hovis (being acquired), private label | Structurally loss-making business; Hovis merger is the strategic fix |
| Grocery — US (ACH/Mazola) | Conagra, Bunge, private label | Mazola #1 US corn oil brand; US weakness acute in H1 FY26 |
| Sugar | Tereos (France), Südzucker (Germany), ASR Group (Tate & Lyle, Domino in North America), Cosan (Brazil) | British Sugar is the UK's only beet-sugar producer; Illovo is Africa's largest. Both exposed to collapsed EU reference prices and world raw-sugar volatility |
| Agriculture (AB Agri) | Cargill, ADM, Alltech, Nutreco, De Heus | UK/European feed and additives specialist; AB Vista a recognised enzyme/data platform |
| Ingredients (AB Mauri / ABF Ingredients) | Lesaffre, Lallemand (yeast), IFF, Novonesis, Kerry, DSM-Firmenich | Global top-three yeast producer; enzyme and speciality-ingredient platform with Central/South America momentum |
Primark vs Shein/Temu. Primark's value proposition has tightened as Shein and Temu have scaled in Europe and the US; ABF's response has been to reinforce the in-store value message and increase markdown activity in Q1 FY26 rather than launch transactional e-commerce. Inditex and H&M both operate full online platforms; Primark does not.
Sugar peers. Tereos, Südzucker, Cosan and ASR all reported sharply lower sugar profits in 2024–25 as EU reference prices fell. ABF's exposure is particularly acute because (i) beet costs had been locked in higher by 2024 contracts, (ii) the Azucarera Spanish asset was cost-disadvantaged, and (iii) Vivergo's failure removed the only structurally growing product in the UK portfolio. The industry-wide cycle is not unique to ABF, but the Vivergo loss is.
9. Leadership and Ownership
| Role | Name | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive, ABF plc | George Weston | CEO since April 2005. Member of the Weston family. Directly and beneficially holds multi-million share position; also connected via the G H Weston 1964 Settlement (2,859,973 shares with pledges removed March 2026) |
| Group CFO | Joana Edwards | Appointed 2026. Previously Group Financial Controller at L'Oréal. 30+ years international FMCG finance |
| Chief Executive, Primark | Eoin Tonge | Permanent Primark CEO from March 2026. Interim since March 2025. Prior: ABF Group Finance Director 2023–2025; CFO Marks & Spencer. Remains on the ABF plc Board |
| Chief Commercial Officer, Primark | Filip Ekvall | Effective 1 September 2026. Ex-H&M |
| Chair | Michael McLintock | Non-executive Chair of the plc Board |
| Shareholder | Approx. stake | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wittington Investments Limited (Weston family holding) | ~58% | Increased to 58.091% by 31 March 2025 and reportedly ~59% by Sept 2025 due to buybacks; periodic sell-downs to prevent breaching 30% mandatory-bid equivalent under the family's internal policy |
| BlackRock | ~3–4% | Index plus active holdings |
| Vanguard Group | ~2–3% | Index holdings |
| Mondrian Investment Partners | ~2% | UK value manager |
| State Street Global Advisors | ~1–2% | Index holdings |
| Artisan Partners | ~1–2% | US active value manager |
Recent PDMR dealings (selected):
| Date | Person | Transaction | Shares | Price (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 April 2026 | Company buyback | Purchase for cancellation | 250,000 | 1,871.79 (avg) |
| 7 April 2026 | Company buyback | Purchase for cancellation | 80,000 | n/d |
| March 2026 | G H Weston 1964 Settlement | Removal of pledges on 2,859,973 shares | 2,859,973 | n/a |
| 17 November 2025 | George Weston | RSP award 69,537 + STIP 23,354; sold 43,660 to cover tax | Net +49,231 / sold 43,660 @ 2,103p | 2,103 |
| 17 November 2025 | Eoin Tonge | PSP 7,068 + RSP 54,420 + STIP 12,591; sold 34,818 to cover tax | Net +39,261 / sold 34,818 @ 2,103p | 2,103 |
| 24 October 2025 | Various PDMRs | SIP Partnership Share Scheme purchase | Modest | n/d |
These are share plan vesting and tax-cover sales, not discretionary open-market sales. The underlying direction for the Weston family has been a gradual sell-down forced by ABF's share buybacks, which would otherwise push Wittington's stake above its internal ceiling.
10. Risks and Challenges
- Sugar cycle and regulation. Continued weakness in EU sugar reference prices, adverse beet cost pass-throughs, further impairments at Azucarera, weather and political risk in Illovo's six African operating countries.
- Vivergo / UK bioethanol. Closure is now actioned; any residual decommissioning costs, redundancy provisions or site remediation liabilities flow through FY26. UK government has refused further intervention despite lobby-group pressure. Policy risk is binary and resolved unfavourably.
- Primark — Continental Europe consumer. H1 FY26 guidance of low single-digit Primark sales growth implies continued LFL weakness in Continental Europe (-5.7% in Q1 FY26). Competitive intensity from Shein/Temu is structural.
- Primark — digital gap. Unlike Inditex and H&M, Primark has no transactional e-commerce platform. A demerger could accelerate investment in a direct-ship model but that would materially compress margins near term.
- US grocery consumer. "More acute than anticipated" weakness in US cooking oils (Mazola) and bakery ingredients.
- Hovis CMA Northern Ireland remedy. A structural remedy in Northern Ireland (forced divestment of bread assets) could materially reduce the synergy case for the merger.
- Weston family governance risk. Minority holders have limited ability to influence capital allocation. A Primark demerger structure, ratio and post-split leverage could all be determined in ways that maximise Weston family control over minority holders' preferences.
- Cost inflation. Wheat, energy and labour costs remain volatile. Primark's value proposition is sensitive to input price moves it cannot pass on without damaging the brand.
- Currency translation. ~50% of group revenue from outside the UK; GBP strength against USD, EUR and emerging-market currencies reduces translated revenue and profit.
- Related-party disclosure. Wittington's stake is held via a complex trust structure with overlapping Weston family commercial interests (Fortnum & Mason, Heal's, Selfridges Group linkages historically). Minority investors should monitor related-party disclosures around any demerger.
11. Recent Developments
Most recent news first.
- 17 April 2026. Press preview coverage confirmed ABF's Primark demerger is the "working assumption" ahead of the H1 FY26 results and structural review update on 22 April 2026. Rothschild is advising. Wittington intends to retain majority control of both resulting entities.
- 13 April 2026. Share buyback — 250,000 shares purchased for cancellation at an average 1,871.79p.
- 7 April 2026. Share buyback — 80,000 shares purchased for cancellation under the February 2026 programme (Barclays Capital Securities Limited as counterparty).
- 27 March 2026. CMA provisionally cleared the ABF/Hovis merger in Great Britain but flagged material competition concerns in Northern Ireland. Parties to respond by 16 April 2026; final decision by 24 June 2026.
- March 2026. Removal of pledges on 2,859,973 shares held by the G H Weston 1964 Settlement. Eoin Tonge appointed permanent CEO of Primark (5 March).
- 25 February 2026. New £250m share buyback programme commenced with Barclays Capital Securities Limited.
- Early February 2026. Appointment of Joana Edwards as Group CFO.
- 8 January 2026. Trading update fast-tracked. Primark total sales +1% in Q1 FY26; UK LFL +1.7%; Continental Europe LFL -5.7%. Group FY26 adjusted operating profit and adjusted EPS now guided to below FY25. US Grocery and Ingredients FY26 guidance cut. Sugar and Agriculture guidance unchanged.
- 4 November 2025. FY25 annual results — group revenue £19.46bn, adjusted operating profit £1.70bn (-12%), Sugar operating loss, Primark retail +1% sales / +2% adjusted operating profit, free cash flow £648m, leverage 1.0x. Final dividend 42.3p. New £250m buyback announced.
- Q3–Q4 2025. Vivergo production of bioethanol and animal feed ceased by 31 August 2025 following the UK Government's decision not to provide financial support and the May 2025 US-UK trade deal allowing duty-free US ethanol imports.
- 15 August 2025. ABF agreed to acquire Hovis to consolidate UK bread production.
- June 2025. ABF updated the market on the scale of the FY25 Sugar operating loss, flagging up to a £40m adjusted operating loss at that time (final outcome materially worse following the Azucarera impairment).
- May 2025. UK-US trade deal included duty-free quota for US ethanol imports, which undermined Vivergo's commercial viability.
- April 2025. H1 FY25 interim results — Sugar warning materialised; Primark H2 recovery flagged.
12. Key Dates Coming Up
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 22 April 2026 | H1 FY26 interim results (24 weeks to 1 March 2026) and outcome of the structural review (Primark demerger decision expected) |
| Late April / early May 2026 | H1 FY26 interim dividend declaration and ex-div/pay dates (if Board maintains pattern) |
| 24 June 2026 | CMA final decision on the ABF/Hovis merger |
| July / August 2026 | Q3 FY26 trading update (40 weeks ended) |
| Q3/Q4 2026 | Completion of the £250m FY26 buyback programme |
| Early November 2026 | FY26 annual results announcement (52 weeks to mid-September 2026) |
| December 2026 | FY26 Annual General Meeting |
| Throughout 2026 | Ongoing Primark US store openings toward the 60-store target; further franchise announcements (MENA) |
Markets-wide diary items also worth tracking against ABF's cycle are on the ChartsView economic calendar — UK retail sales, US consumer confidence, and UK food price inflation data all move Primark and Grocery sentiment. Live price action is on the ChartsView live charts, and member discussion on ABF can be followed on the ChartsView forum. More research write-ups are catalogued on the ChartsView blog.
Disclaimer: This research is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. All figures are drawn from ABF's filings, RNS announcements and company communications available as of 20 April 2026. ChartsView does not include analyst price targets, buy/sell/hold ratings or consensus estimates. Forward-looking statements are attributed to the company. Do your own due diligence before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future results.