Helping the much-loved Hummingbird Bakery survive, scale, and serve more cakes

Starting from scratch  

Founded in 2004, Hummingbird Bakery built a loyal following with its American-style cakes and desserts. But by the time Acropolis Capital acquired the business during the pandemic, it was in administration, with no systems, no finance team, and three busy sites that needed immediate attention.

‍

This wasn’t a handover. It was a rebuild. Accurise set up the entire finance function from day one—payroll, reporting, budgeting and supplier payments.  

‍

“We had customers coming through the doors, people to pay, and zero infrastructure behind the scenes. Without Accurise, we’d probably have gone to one of the big four accounting firms. It would’ve been more expensive and nowhere near as flexible,” said Douglas Smillie, Executive Director of Hummingbird Bakery.  

Why it works  

• Speed and scale: Hummingbird needed a finance team, but didn’t have time to hire one. Accurise became that team, without the costs and time of hiring in-house. ‍
• Built for growth and strategic support: With real-time reporting, site-by-site visibility, and cash flow forecasting, the focus quickly shifted from firefighting to scaling. ‍
• Embedded but independent: Accurise became part of the team, but crucially, stayed independent. Transparent accounts and independent oversight gave Douglas and his investors peace of mind. ‍
• Flexible tech: Accurise used Polaris for reporting, PMT for payroll, and integrated systems tailored to Hummingbird’s needs.

Results  

• Doubled from 3 to 6 sites in 3 years.  
• No internal finance hires needed.
• Clean, audit-ready accounts every year.
• The equivalent of 332,745 cupcakes or 30,742 more red velvet cakes sold.*

*Accounting stats stay under wraps, but here's a growth guesstimate in terms of Hummingbird's best-selling red velvet cakes and cupcakes. 

A future built for scale

With a central bakery model, multiple sites, and ambitious growth plans, Hummingbird now has full financial visibility and confidence to expand further. And with direct accounts access for private equity partners, everyone’s aligned.

‍

“We look at wages, margins, and performance across every site. That’s only possible because of the numbers we get from Accurise,” said Douglas.  

‍

“The speed and accuracy of the service is unmatched. Both the operational and private equity team agree that outsourcing is much more efficient than an in-house team. Our auditors have easy access and full visibility and haven’t had any issues, reporting in a more timely and efficient manner than we have seen elsewhere.”

‍

Need a finance setup that grows with you?

If you’re an ambitious hospitality business ready to scale, Accurise gives you the tools, insight, and support to grow, without the full-time overhead.

‍

👉 Let’s talk.