Noble Inns is set for a period of consolidation following the departure of its managing director, Simon Holroyd to become Bella Italia chief operations officer, MCA understands.
Last week MCA revealed that co-founder Scott Hunter would be taking on Holroyd’s role but no new openings are planned.
The company had been working with chef Neil Rankin on its smokehouse and Bad Egg formats, with the latter designed as a model for more rapid expansion than pubs. However MCA understands that Rankin’s focus is now firmly on his “modern barbecue, wine bar and counter dining” concept, which is backed by Imbiba.
Hunter told MCA that he and wife Maria, who co-founded the company, were expecting their first child in May so they had decided to “take our foot off the peddle for a little while”
Hunter said: “I throw myself 100% into our openings. We opened Bad Egg and Chiswick back to back and I can count on one hand how many days I took off in six months. I simply decided this didn’t fit with being a first time Dad and I didn’t want to open any more sites for a year or so.”
On Holroyd, he said: “Simon has a passion for growing companies so we decided over a beer he should keep his ears to the ground for anything that may interest him. The CDG role came available and it’s something Simon was very passionate about so he left with my 100% blessing. I’ve taken over his role and will continue to run the company with the support of our operations manager and executive chef.”
