The management team, which oversaw the return to growth of Strada and its subsequent £37m sale to Hugh Osmond’s Sun Capital Partners vehicle, is to leave the company at the end of this month.
Managing director James Spragg and finance director Zoe Tindall will be leaving the business at the end of month to pursue other projects. M&C Report understands that Tindall is to join Soho House Group as its new group finance director.
Current Strada operations director John Cronin has been promoted to the role of chief operating officer with immediate effect.
At the same time, Jackie Freeman, formerly finance director of PizzaExpress, will be joining the business on 27 October as its new chief financial officer.
Freeman was finance director and company secretary for PizzaExpress from 2003, before the purchase by private equity house, Cinven, until the recent sale to Hony Capital for £900m this year.
Osmond said: “John has been instrumental in maintaining positive momentum within the business over the recent period of uncertainty and will provide continuity as we embark on our substantial investment and growth plans. John will assume day-to-day control of the business, reporting directly to me as executive chairman, and to the Board of directors.
“Jackie was the longest serving member of the operating board, oversaw a very substantial increase in profitability over the period of her tenure, led the separation from Gondola, and was a key figure in the sale process itself and the funding of the purchase by Hony. I believe Jackie has all the skills and experience that we will need for our planned revival and rapid expansion of Strada.
“We are extremely pleased with our purchase of this excellent business and have ambitious plans for investment and expansion. We very much appreciate all the hard work that has been put in by all the staff to keep our restaurants performing well, despite this period of considerable uncertainty. Now that this uncertainty is over, we look forward to getting Strada back into the Premier League of restaurants where it belongs, and work on achieving that will start immediately.”
