Jennie Allen, 62, started her high-end grocery business Bayley & Sage in 1997. From her first shop in Wimbledon village, she now has 11 stores in south-west London, with a Hampstead store due to open in mid-April. There are also two standalone homeware stores, Abode, in Parsons Green (opened in 2021) and Belgravia (opened in 2023).
Turnover has increased from £1.5mn to £30mn (2024). With headquarters in Fulham, a central production unit and a distribution centre at Wimbledon Park, the company has 220 employees.
Whether sourcing everyday or artisanal produce, Allen’s focus is on provenance. Always in demand are Ventoux cherries, English asparagus, magnums of Provençal rose, Wiston sparkling wine, heirloom tomatoes, ratte potatoes, and truffle cheeses. The company started using Deliveroo in February 2025.
CV
Born: Sunbury on Thames, March 1962.
Education: 1973-80: Sir William Perkins’s Grammar School, Chertsey (A-levels English and French).
1982-86: Manchester Polytechnic, BSc Hotel & Catering Management.
Career: During A-levels worked for frozen food retailer Bejam.
1987- 1997: Joined Cullens Food Stores as trainee manager.
1994: Appointed Cullens commercial director, then managing director (1995).
1997: Opened first Bayley & Sage store.
2020: Store open in Fulham Road, former Cullens shop.
July 2022: Only two-storey shop in Marylebone High Street opens.
Lives: Widowed last year, Allen lives in Temple Ewell, Kent, a house in Provence, and a Parsons Green flat. Her two Staffordshire bull terriers, Bailey and Margaux, travel with her.
Did you start your business by accident or design?
Very much by design. From the age of 16 I knew I was going to work for myself and could not see the point of going to university. My parents weren’t entrepreneurs. My father was in the Navy and my mother did not work but she became a local councillor and the Mayor of Runnymede.
My mother died when I was 24 and she had left me a bit of money, that I thought I would put towards my own venture. A one-day business seminar in 1987 showed me I did not have the money or experience I needed.
I went to work for Cullens as a trainee manager. A while after I was area manager, they started an amazing partnership scheme. I told Cullens I would only do it if I could have Holland Park store, which they agreed to. In 1989 it was a cheap way to get into business.
I needed enough money to cover weekly rent, rates, depreciation and fees. You had to do your own accounts, manage your staff and pay suppliers. That really taught me the importance of cash flow. My type of food retailing is cash positive, which means my customers pay me today, but I don’t pay the suppliers for four or five weeks.
Could you have got to where you are without your retail experience at Cullens?
Definitely not. It was an amazing nine-year apprenticeship. I worked for some incredible people, including Peter Matthews, who became my husband. I learned that you must have a clear concept with a simple focus.
I was a partner for 18 months, then in 1991 I became a franchisee. That was tricky because no bank wanted to lend money to a woman of 29. I had £100,000 from cash flow but I was seeking £150,000 from the bank. I was turned down by four banks, and I did not qualify for the Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme because my turnover was too high, which is ridiculous.
In the end, Cullens lent me £150,000, and I refinanced nine months later from the Midland Bank. As a franchisee I increased turnover and profit for four years and paid them 4.5 per cent of turnover. I did new things, opening Cullens Patisserie, and Cullens Express.
After this I vowed never to go to a bank again. Each new Bayley & Sage shop I have financed through retained profit. I have never had a loan. My annual profit is between £1mn and £1.5mn. I never set out to have so many stores. I thought I would have three.
What are your criteria for choosing sites?
I look for a parade of shops where there is a community, often in affluent areas, and we can get to know customers. Then we have technical criteria. The shape of the shop must allow sufficient space for rubbish storage and cooling units, and the street has to allow early-morning deliveries, like our bread suppliers coming at 4.30am.
Early on, people did not want to offer us sites. Now we have a great property agent and people come to us. A site must also be on our distribution run from Wimbledon Park.
What did you have to sacrifice to start the business?
Social life, holidays, and a routine. If someone rang in sick it was always me doing the double shift. If a door didn’t close properly, I was the one who had to wait for the repair man to come late to fix it. I don’t see it as a sacrifice. This is how it is if you want to be an entrepreneur. But there are compensations. I have really enjoyed watching people grow and develop in their roles.
Do you have a pension?
I have had a pension since I was 27, and it was the best thing I ever did. I am already at the £1mn mark.
When I turned 60, I took out circa £250,000 from the pension to buy some land in Surrey that had planning permission for a bungalow. I’m deciding what to do, as it is going to be my retirement place.
Though unused pension savings may be liable for inheritance tax in 2027, I plan to continue contributing. My intention was never really to touch it anyway.
What is your view of the October Budget?
It is not business friendly. We have calculated that the national insurance and increase in the London living wage will cost us £600,000. It is a hefty charge that adds 10 per cent to our labour bill. A small amount we will have to absorb, the rest we will have to find through efficiencies.
The Budget changes might mean we put expansion on hold for a year, as £600,000 is slightly less than the cost of fitting out new premises. We will have to think hard before opening new stores. We had to swallow the electricity rises with the Ukraine war, and that cost was £500,000.
If you inherited £1mn how would you spend it?
I would give it away. I am a great believer in educating young people, and the company sponsors students in higher education. One girl did forensic science, another studied Formula One engineering, the only girl on the course. I personally sponsor a charity in Tanzania, Mizizi Ya Mafanikio, helping women to better themselves and have a career. I give money to Bookmark, a charity that improves children’s literacy, and Momentum, which helps families of seriously ill children. I support Target Ovarian Cancer, because I have had the disease twice myself in 2013 and 2014. The experience came as a wake-up call to expand the business.
How efficient are you with personal finance?
I know exactly what is in my personal account and exactly what is in my business account. Until five years ago I never paid myself anything much. I put everything back into Bayley & Sage. I try to be financially savvy. I track interest rates and always switch to higher paying accounts.
At 59 I decided I could afford to take a chunky dividend out of the business. I bought a property in Portugal, I paid off a big part of my mortgage, and I bought a share of a yacht doing the Oyster World Rally.
My greatest indulgence is that I work part-time. After I was sick, I decided to work fewer hours, so I have the gift of time. I am the only person in the business who does not have an office or desk.