Hovis and Kingsmill owners participated in the talks, which could lead to the merger of the two largest bread brands in the UK under "challenging" market conditions.

The related British Foods (ABF), which owns Kingsmill’s parent allies bakery and budget clothing chain Primark, said it was endless negotiations on potential deals in negotiations with Hovis’s private equity owners.

If an agreement is reached, the acquisition will put Kingsmere and Hoves, two of the UK's most famous and oldest supermarket bread brands, under a roof.

"Alliance bakeries continue to face a very challenging market. We are evaluating the strategic choice for Allied bakeries in this context and we remain committed to increasing the value of long-term shareholders," ABF told shareholders.

The company reported last week that Allied bakery sales fell in the 24-week period on March 1, resulting in higher operating losses for its UK grocery business. Thin-sliced ​​bread producers have struggled in recent years due to high inflation and changing consumer habits.

The deal will attract competitor scrutiny as it will bring together two of the UK's largest bakers; the market leader is Warburtons.

This is a private family business, founded in 1876 and is actively managed by the fifth generation of the Warburton family. The company is known for its eye-catching TV commercials and even landed on Hollywood star Robert De Niro.

Hovis was founded in 1890 and was purchased in 2020 by Endless from Premier Foods, which owns the Kipling Mr brand.

The history of the Allied Bakery dates back to 1935, when bakery entrepreneur Willard Garfield Weston founded the Allied Bakery and its sister company, Allied Mills. It also has Allinson and the sunniest brand, with eight bakeries and six warehouses extending from Glasgow to London. The ABF is still owned by the founding family of the Allied forces and run by George Weston.

ABF's sugar maker is also struggling, while its Primark chain saw a sharp drop in UK sales last week and lost market share as the company warned that consumer confidence could worsen further due to the trade war of Donald Trump.

ABF's stock rose 1% in trading earlier on Tuesday before relaxing.