Robin Rowland steps down from YO! board

Robin Rowland is to step down from his role as a non-executive director on the board of YO! marking the end of a 20-year tenure at the business.

Rowland led the business for 17 years until November 2017, taking on the chief executive role when the business had only three London restaurants, with YO! undergoing three private equity transactions in the intervening years.

His decision to step down leaves him to focus on developing his portfolio of retail hospitality interests, including three investments at Trispan Private Equity in his role as operating partner and chairman. He also sits on the board at Caffe Nero, UKHospitality and Gulf-based F&B platform Eathos.

Commenting on his departure, Richard Hodgson, chief executive: “Robin took sushi to the masses, growing YO!, from a fledgling business to one of the UK’s most loved and iconic restaurant chains. Though he will be sorely missed by everyone at YO!, we wish him the best with his future projects, all of which will benefit from his considerable experience and insight.”

Rowland said: “The acquisition of Snow Fox last month marks a further milestone in YO!’s pivot to a diversified global multi-brand and multi-format Japanese food group. As such, now’s the right time for me to step down from the Board to make room for others who can guide YO! through to the next stage of development.”