He moves from gambling firm GVC and will have pay package of up to £3.9m in first year
Andy Hornby, the former boss of HBOS, has been appointed as chief executive of the troubled Restaurant Group, with a pay package of up to £3.9m in his first year.
Hornby, who stepped down from HBOS when it had to be rescued by Lloyds TSB in 2008, is currently the co-chief operating officer of the gambling firm GVC Holdings, which owns Ladbrokes Coral. He joined Gala Coral in 2011 and previously ran Alliance Boots for two years.
The 52-year-old’s new role at the group that owns the Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s chains is his first chief executive role at a UK-listed company in more than a decade. He left HBOS at the end of 2008, with his reputation as one of Britain’s best young business leaders left in tatters by the banking crisis.
Hornby said: “I recognise that this sector of the market faces considerable challenges but The Restaurant Group has a set of casual dining and pub brands that offer significant potential.”
The Restaurant Group runs more than 650 restaurants across the UK, under the Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s, Chiquito, Garfunkel’s and Brunning & Price brands. It also owns concessions in UK airports.
Hornby is joining the FTSE 250-listed firm on a package worth up to £3.9m in his first year. His annual package is a maximum of £2.96m but on top of this he will be awarded a one-off share bonus of £945,000, to compensate for the loss of bonuses at GVC.
The Restaurant Group will pay him an annual salary of £630,000, an annual bonus of up to £945,000 and a share bonus under the long-term incentive plan of £1.26m. He will not get a pension but could receive a salary supplement of up to 20% instead.
Hornby succeeds Andy McCue who resigned in February “due to extenuating personal circumstances”, just after the Restaurant Group completed its controversial £559m takeover of the noodle chain Wagamama. It had to tap shareholders for £315m to help fund the deal and 40% of investors voted against the acquisition, which they considered too expensive.
Debbie Hewitt, the chairman, said: “Andy brings very relevant consumer, people and brand-led CEO credentials, with experience leading a multisite retail business which is undergoing digital transformation. Andy’s extensive retail background, proven hands-on operational expertise and experience of integrating businesses position him well to provide the leadership required to deliver the next phase of our strategy.”
Hornby, educated at Oxford and Harvard, started out at Asda under Archie Norman and he rose to retail managing director and managing director of George clothing. He joined Halifax in 1999 and was promoted to chief executive of the whole bank, HBOS, in 2006 at the age of 39.
The Guardian
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