TRG shakes up senior team amid investor pressure
The group’s current chief financial officer, Kirk Davis will stand down after more than five years at the business, following the presentation of TRG’s interim results in September 2023.
Mark Chambers – currently CEO for Leisure & Concessions – will take on the role of CFO designate from 1 July and formally take over as group CFO from 15 September.
Chambers has over twenty years of senior experience in leisure and hospitality and moved to general management roles over 10 years ago after spending 15 years in finance. The combination of financial and operational experience makes him a strong candidate for TRG’s next stage of evolution, according to the business.
Jonathan Knight, who has been with TRG for just over three years, will replace Chambers as CEO of Leisure & Concessions, reporting directly to CEO Andy Hornby with effect from 1 July.
Jacqui McManus, currently people director for Leisure & Concessions, will take on a dual role as group HR director and people director for Leisure & Concessions.
Commenting on the changes, CEO Andy Hornby said: “These management changes are the result of carefully managed succession planning. I would particularly like to thank Kirk for his huge efforts over the past five years. TRG is a very different business from when he joined in 2018. He was instrumental both in the acquisition and successful integration of Wagamama and in supporting the business as it successfully navigated the Covid pandemic. We wish him all the very best for the future.”
The changes come amid an ongoing period of investor pressure for TRG, which owns the Wagamama, Chiquito and Frankie & Benny’s restaurant brands.
Activist investors including Oasis, Coltrane, and TMR Capital have called for change at the company over the past months and protested over the remuneration of directors.
