Tesco will no longer replace two Hovis lines with Kingsmill in its Express c-stores.

In September British Baker reported that Tesco would remove Hovis Soft White and Best of Both ranges in favour of Kingsmill Soft White and 50/50 from competitor Allied Bakeries. However, it now plans to hold on to the two Hovis brands.

When contacted, Allied Bakeries confirmed that this latest update was correct.

Meanwhile, Hovis owner Premier Foods said the company enjoyed full national distribution of its range.

A Premier Foods spokesperson said:“Customer relationships are progressing well and indeed in our largest customer, Tesco, we have accelerated our growth within the last month, having benefited from a substantial increase in space and distribution in all stores including their ever growing Tesco Express format, where we enjoy full national distribution of our range.”

Last week, Premier Foods confirmed that it has appointed a company to look at options for investment into the bread brand.

The company updated the market to confirm it had appointed Ondra Partners, a private equity group, to look at its options - following rumours it was to put Hovis up for sale.