Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods has named Duncan Leggett as chief financial officer (CFO).

Leggett joined the business in 2011, becoming a member of the executive leadership team in August 2019, when he was made acting CFO following the departure of Alastair Murray.

Following an executive search process, he has been made CFO with immediate effect.

Prior to this, he was director of financial control and corporate development, having previously held a number of senior roles within finance, including group financial controller. Before joining the company, Leggett spent nine years at KPMG, working with clients across a variety of industries.

“Duncan’s extensive technical knowledge and experience of our business makes him an invaluable member of our executive leadership team, so I am delighted to appoint him permanently as CFO and welcome him onto the board,” said Alex Whitehouse, who was appointed Premier Foods chief executive officer in August this year.

“With this added business continuity, I look forward to continuing our work together as we increase our pace of delivery and ever sharpen our consumer, customer and operational focus.”

The latest financial results for the business reported an 8% uplift in sales for Premier’s Mr Kipling brand for the first half or the 2019/2020 financial year. However, its own-label cake business continued to suffer, with sales down 26.6% over the period.