New Chief Executive for Paramount Restaurants

Mark Phillips has been appointed Chief Executive of Paramount Restaurants, the operator of Chez Grard, Bertorelli and Caff? Uno restaurants.

Phillips joins from Whitbread, where he was Managing Director, and will take over from Nick Basing on June 4.

Basing resigned and is to take up a position as a Director on the Board of Dawnay Day International Ltd to focus on opportunities and investments across the general leisure industry.

John Conlan, Chairman of Paramount, said: “Mark is highly regarded within the leisure industry. His experience and leadership skills make him exceptionally well placed to exploit Paramount’s position as one of the UK’s leading restaurant groups. Mark has a successful track record of running large multi-site businesses and achieving operational improvement and growth.

“We thank Nick for his considerable efforts and contribution to the achievements of Paramount during his time. He leaves the business on good terms and we wish him every success in the future.”

Mark Phillips said: “Paramount Restaurants is at an exciting time in its development. It has some of the strongest brands on the high street and is in a good position to continue to roll these out. My experience at Whitbread, where I improved the performance of the restaurant division and doubled the number of outlets of Costa Coffee, will be directly relevant to my new role.”