Tortilla promotes Brandon Stephens to group CEO and hires former Leon MD as UK CEO: Tortilla, the UK’s largest fast-casual Mexican restaurant brand, has promoted Brandon Stephens to group chief executive and hired former Leon managing director Mac Plumpton as UK chief executive, as the company enters its next phase of development. Stephens replaces Andy Naylor, who steps down as chief executive after eight years with the company. Stephens founded Tortilla in 2007 and served as chief executive until 2014 and was most recently a non-executive director. He will focus on long-term strategy, concept and brand innovation, food development, technology roadmap, property selection, business development and investor relations. Plumpton, who will lead the UK business, also previously co-founded Tapas Revolution and brings deep operational experience from senior roles at Rosa's Thai, Belgo, Strada and Planet Hollywood. In addition, Marta Pogroszewska, former managing director of Bread Holdings (the parent company of Gail's), joins the board as non-executive director, while Edson Diaz-Fuentes, one of the UK’s leading Mexican chefs, joins the senior leadership team as food ambassador. Francesca Tiritiello, former chief financial officer of YUM! Europe, has stepped down as non-executive director and assumes a more active role as board advisor, leading UK and European franchise development, while Keith Down has stepped down as non-executive director and audit committee chair, with recruitment of his replacement underway. The company said: “These changes position Tortilla to execute on its vision of becoming the leading pan-European fast-casual Mexican brand. The strengthened leadership team brings together concept development expertise, fast-casual operational experience, Mexican cuisine expertise, and international franchise development capability. As previously announced, the company ended 2025 with strong like-for-like sales performance in the UK and significant uplifts in sales from its converted French stores, providing a solid foundation for the next phase of growth.” Under the refreshed leadership team, the company will focus on five key strategic initiatives. These are to enhance and broaden the food offering over the next 18 months to achieve parity with global best-in-class offerings; to convert the remaining corporate-owned Fresh Burritos stores in France to Tortilla-branded stores by end of 2026; to address the short tail of underperforming UK stores to eliminate loss-making stores and drive UK four-wall EBITDA margin toward 20% as a longer-term goal; to prove the European franchise rollout model in France, accounting for scale improvements over time, to set the stage for a first territory-wide or regional franchise deal on the continent by end of 2026; and to deploy AI-enabled tools and a data-driven approach across the organisation to streamline operations, strengthen unit economics, and enable faster, data-driven decision-making. Stephens said: “I’m pleased to be returning to lead Tortilla through its next chapter. We have built something meaningful, but there is significant work ahead. The experienced leadership team we have assembled are fully aligned on putting the customer first, investing in our product, and building a sustainable, pan-European business. I would like to thank Duncan and Auctor for their support.” Plumpton said: “I’m delighted to be joining Tortilla at such an important time. Fast-casual success depends on getting the balance right between product quality, value for money, and operational efficiency, and I look forward to supporting our teams to achieve those critical objectives. I'm excited to work alongside Brandon and the team to realise Tortilla's potential.” Naylor added: “It has been a privilege to serve as CEO of Tortilla. I am proud of what we have achieved together, most recently delivering a record year of profitability in the UK and making the first steps of our journey of European expansion. I believe now is the right time for new leadership to take the business forward. I leave Tortilla in capable hands and wish Brandon, Mac, and the entire team every success.” Last month, Tortilla said it experienced a record year of profitability across its UK business in the 12 months to 28 December 2025, with total like‑for‑like sales up 6.2%, and group revenue up 8.5% to £73.8m. It reported “resilient” UK in-store like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter, up 3%, despite lapping strong in-store like-for-like sales of 4.8% in the same quarter of the prior year. The company said its franchise like-for-like revenue growth was up 4.5% in the UK, up 14.7% in the UAE and up 2.6% in France, with weekly sales records achieved across 13 franchise locations.