Hostmore has announced the resignation of Robert B. Cook as chief executive and a director with immediate effect.
The Edinburgh-headquartered hospitality group also confirmed that Julie McEwan, currently chief operating officer of Fridays, has been appointed interim chief executive.
She joined the business last February and, prior to that, was at Big Table Group - previously Casual Dining Group - latterly as brand director of Las Iguanas. She has previously held management roles at Spirit Pub Company, Premier Inn and Whitbread.
The board has initiated a search process, comprising both internal and external candidates, to find the best long-term candidate for chief executive.
At the end of October, Cook was appointed as a non-executive director of new hospitality tech company Occupyd - which trades as Obvlo - following approval from the Hostmore board.
Elsewhere, Hostmore's update on trading for the financial year ended 1 January 2023 showed that on a statutory like-for-like basis, revenue for the last 26 weeks continued at 14% below the comparative full year 2019 period.
This result was achieved despite the impact of the Queen's death, national rail strikes, the Football World Cup, and the unusually cold weather during the period.
The company generated revenue in December of £21.3m, slightly more than December 2021's revenue of £21.2m.
Consolidated net bank debt at the year end was £29.5m, which has improved from the company's prior guidance of £32.5m for the quarter ended 2 October.
Gavin Manson, chairman of Hostmore, said: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Robert for his efforts as CEO over the past three years, particularly in steering the business through the pandemic and in rebuilding the executive team, and we wish him well for the future.
"We are pleased that Julie has accepted the role of Interim CEO, given her strong sector experience and operational strengths."
Cook added: "I wish to extend my sincere gratitude and thanks to the board and the executive team for their support in my three years at the helm, and, most importantly, to thank all the team in the restaurants who pull on the red and white stripes every day and do such a sterling job for the brand."
The latest departure follows an update on 19 December that independent non-executive director Jane Bednall decided to step down from the board for 'personal reasons', which followed another announcement a week earlier that independent non-executive director Louise Stonier was stepping down to focus on her 'expanded executive commitments'.
Hostmore runs the American-themed casual dining brand Fridays - formerly TGI Fridays - the cocktail bar and restaurant chain 63rd+1st and the fast dining offshoot Fridays and Go.
The group currently operates 91 sites in the UK, the majority of which are in high footfall locations, including retail parks, shopping centres and city centres.
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