Graham Turner has been singled out as the eating and drinking-out market’s best individual.
The chief executive of Tragus Holdings, which operates the Café Rouge concept, was named best individual at the Retailers’ Retailer of the Year – the awards organised by M&C Report and voted for by senior executives from the industry.
Presenting the award, Mark Stretton, editor of M&C Report, said: “Graham Turner is very much the modern business leader – an inspirational manager and a great dealmaker. He is one of the sector’s true value creators.”
Turner emerged as the winner of the Best Individual prize from an illustrious group of individuals, comprising Rooney Anand of Greene King, John Hutson of JD Wetherspoon, Simon Kossoff of Carluccio’s, Julian Metcalf of Pret A Manger, and Ian Neill of Wagamama.
The prize was one of two presented to Turner at a prestigious ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel on London’s Park Lane – Tragus, which is backed by Blackstone, also collected best deal for its £140m acquisition of Strada.
The vendor in that particular transaction, entrepreneur Richard Caring, who has built an impressive portfolio of leisure assets, was named investor of the year.
Wagamama, the international noodle-bar chain, was named best company, Le Pain Quotidien was identified as the emerging brand of the year, and Gaucho Grill collected best concept.
McDonald’s won the revitalised brand category, while Alma De Cuba, a bar-restaurant housed in a 200-year-old church in Liverpool city centre, was named best venue.
The Rising Star category was awarded to two of the entrepreneurs behind the fledgling British food concept Canteen – Patrick Clayton-Malone and Dominic Lake.
Aside from the fact that the industry elects the winners, the Retailers’ awards programme takes its name because it is designed to recognise the hallmarks of retailing excellence – strong customer propositions, attention to detail, flawless execution, and great training – in the context of the eating and drinking-out market.
In their 10th year, the awards attracted a record number of people voting, with over 400 senior individuals having their say.
The Retailers’ Retailer of the Year Awards were sponsored by event partners Brakes, Brulines, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Hobart UK, KPMG, Sapient Corporate Finance, Torex Retail and Wells & Young’s Brewing Company.
