The Restaurant Group’s Andrew Page to retire
THE RESTAURANT Group’s chief executive Andrew Page is to step down after more than 12 years at the helm.
The owner of Frankie & Benny’s said yesterday that Page will retire in August “to pursue new projects” although he will stay on as an adviser two days a week.
A search has kicked-off for his successor and the group said they will look at internal and external candidates.
Finance director Stephen Critoph and Danny Breithaupt, managing director at Frankie & Benny’s, have been touted as strong contenders for the role.
The business was in a poor financial state when Page and chairman Alan Jackson joined the group in 2001, then known as City Centre Restaurants.
His biggest achievements have been moving the company out of the high street and into retail parks, scaling back its sprawling estate and focusing on key brands such as Garfunkel’s.
The group’s market value has grown from £75m to £1.2bn under his watch.
One person who has worked closely with Page described him as “extremely hard working and dedicated” as well as “a big family man”.
“When you look at what he has done over the last 10 years there are not many people who could have grown profits that way,” he said.