Hospitality grandee David Campbell is to take the chairman’s role at Rare Restaurants, the group behind the Gaucho and M restaurant brands.
Campbell was founding CEO at Virgin Radio before taking on a host of CEO roles, including that of AEG Europe during the renovation of the unloved Millennium Dome into the the O2 Arena.
He currently served as chair of Ole and Steen and has also enjoyed highly successful stints at The Ivy, Bill’s and Wagamama, as well as masterminding the turnaround of Pizza Express.
Rare CEO Martin Williams said Campbell’s arrival would “assist us on taking the business to the next level. His track record is the best in the business and I look forward to seeing his leadership and experience impact our boardroom and restaurants alike.”
Gaucho enjoyed double-digit turnover growth in 2023 with like for like restaurants enjoying EBITDA margins north of 20 per cent.
Williams also paid tribute to outgoing chairman Jamie Mitchell.
“Our shareholders – Investec and SC Lowy – and I take this opportunity to thank Jamie Mitchell for outstanding support and guidance as chair for the past 5 years – a period which has taken the business from strength to strength, leaving us with incredible results and focus on people, the planet and profit.”
Williams and his partners pulled Gaucho out of administration in 2018, years after he had founded, and then left, the business.
Alongside M in Threadneedle Street, the restaurant group has overhauled its menus and spaces to remove the “intimidation” factor of steak restaurants and attract a younger, and more diverse crowd.
“The changes we made have made it attractive cross-gender, cross-generation,” he told City A.M. last year.
The group is also set to appear yet again at Royal Ascot.
The chairman’s appointment comes after the firm was recognised in the latest ‘best places to work’ list compiled by The Sunday Times.
Williams said: “After a five-year commitment – which proved us to be the exemplar of an empathetic employer during the pandemic – our values and engagement are now firmly embedded with our 1,500-strong family which, combined with our impact initiatives, sees us strive to be recognised as a world-class employer”