Loungers has appointed Gregor Grant, ex of Novus Leisure, as its chief financial officer.
Grant joins the group in the week it opened its 128th site – Tarko Lounge in Barnstaple – with plans to add 25 sites in the current financial year.
Grant has been involved in various high-growth and private equity-backed leisure companies during his career including Novus Leisure, Cartrawler, Fuddruckers, Eldridge Pope and Morrells of Oxford.
Loungers chief executive, Nick Collins, said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Gregor into Loungers. We are fortunate to have someone of his calibre and considerable experience joining the team. I know he will fit very well culturally and will complement and build on the senior management team’s expertise, alongside driving further improvement in the performance of the business.”
Gregor Grant, said: “Loungers is a really exciting business, whose progress and development I have been admiring for many years. It is bringing the soul back to communities with a business model that genuinely epitomises all day trading. I am delighted to be able to play my part in the next stage of the business’ development.”
Collins told MCA the appointment meant Loungers now had a full-strength head office to support its ambitious expansion plans. He said growth opportunities mainly lay through in-filling in its existing geographies but that the group was also keen to make further in-roads in the north east.
He said sales had remained strong pull despite the World Cup, which generally proves a slight negative for Loungers sales.
He said despite the trend for diversification amongst pub operators Loungers would continue to seek sales growth through further evolution of its food and drink offer.
