By Scott Wright

ROBERT Cook, the Scottish hospitality veteran, quit abruptly as chief executive of the company that owns the Fridays cocktail bar chain yesterday.

Mr Cook has stepped down from his role at Hostmore with immediate effect, with the news announced as part of a trading update that underlined the struggles facing the company as it strives to revive revenues to pre-Covid levels, amid wider challenges in the hospitality sector.

Shares in Hostmore, which floated on the stock market in November 2021, closed the day 13.4 per cent lower after it revealed Mr Cook’s departure following three years in the post, and reported that revenues for the 26 weeks ended January 1, 2023, were 14% adrift of the same period in its 2019 financial year.

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The company said this result was “despite the impact of Her Majesty the Queen’s passing, national rail strikes, the Football World Cup, and the unusually cold weather during the period.”

Hostmore currently operates 91 sites in the UK, including 11 outlets in Scotland trading under the Fridays (formerly TGI Fridays), 63rd + 1st, and Fridays and Go brands. In May last year it revealed plans to roll out Fridays and Go, a “fast casual restaurant” concept, in Scotland following a successful launch in Dundee.

Mr Cook, who hails from Aberdeen and is a former chief executive of Hotel du Vin and Malmaison, has been replaced on an interim basis by Julie McEwan, chief operating officer. Ms McEwan joined Fridays in February 2022 and before that worked for Big Table Group (previously Casual Dining Group), latterly as brand director of the Las Iguanas chain. She previously held management roles at Spirit Pub Company, Premier Inn, and Whitbread.

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Hostmore said it has embarked on a search for a long-term successor to Mr Cook, noting that it will consider both internal and external candidates for the role.

Mr Cook said: “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.”

Mr Cook joined Hostmore from Virgin Active, where he was chief executive, in December 2019. He was part of the management team drafted in by Electra Private Equity as it prepared to float the Fridays business, which occurred around two years later. Fridays changed its name to Hostmore when the company listed.

Mr Cook’s tenure time at Hostmore has been dominated by major headwinds in the hospitality industry. Soon after the company floated, venues across the industry were forced to close when the country moved into lockdown. The easing of restrictions then saw the industry beset by acute labour shortages, and more recently it has faced a cost-of-doing business crisis, driven in large part by the surge in energy costs that has followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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In an interview with The Herald last May, Mr Cook, who had worked in the industry as it dealt with the fall-out from crises such as 9-11 and the financial crash of 2008/2008, said: “It is one after the other of bad news… I don’t think I have seen all of the difficult London buses coming round the corner at once, as we have seen in the last few weeks and months. Saying that, we are in a pretty strong position in terms of our balance sheet.

“Having been round the block a few times both myself and the team, particularly my CFO Alan (Clark) who is similar to myself in terms of experience, we know the levers to pull and to push to make sure that we do the best that we can in the difficult circumstances. But I have got to say I don’t think I recall so much negativity coming all at once.”

Hostmore reported yesterday that it generated £21.3m of revenue in December, up marginally on the same month the year before when it booked sales of £21.2m.

After adjusting for the temporary decrease in value added tax in December 2021, which had the effect of increasing revenue, like-for-like revenue in December 2022 was 1% below the same month the year before.

The company stated that its consolidated net bank debt was £29.5m at the year end, compared with £32.5m for the quarter ended October 2.

Hostmore chairman Gavin Manson 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 Covid 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.

“Together, we look forward to focusing on the group’s priorities and building on its strengths in the weeks and months ahead.”

Shares in Hostmore, which dropped as much as 20% yesterday morning, closed down 13.4% at 12.14p.