Gail’s Artisan Bakery, the Luke Johnson-backed group, is readying its first regional launch in Oxford, M&C understands.
The 23-strong, London-based group, which was founded in 2005, is believed to have secured a site in the city for an opening around the turn of the year, with further locations such as Cambridge, St Albans and Guildford being considered.
At the same time, M&C understands that Barry Cook, who joined the company earlier this year as deputy managing director, has now been made managing director of the business.
Cook spent over four and a half years as head of operations at Aubaine. Previous to that he spent nine years at Ikea.
Earlier this year, the company revealed plans to expand out of the capital, but said it had turned down opportunities to go into travel locations.
Tom Molnar, joint founder of Gail’s, said he had ambitions to open sites within 50 miles of London.
The company also set up a delivery service to provide catering for business meetings in the capital.
