Propel Newsletter Archive Page

Wingstop UK hires Emma Colquhoun as chief growth officer: Wingstop UK, which is backed by US private equity firm Sixth Street, has hired Emma Colquhoun, formerly of Wagamama, as its first chief growth officer, to help drive its continued expansion across the UK and Ireland. Colquhoun joins Wingstop UK with more than 17 years’ experience leading growth, transformation and customer-centric strategy at some of the world’s most recognised consumer and hospitality brands. She has held executive team positions at Krispy Kreme and Ferrero, as well as leading growth and customer-focused initiatives across a portfolio of well-known brands including Nutella, Nescafé, Robinsons, Huggies, Kleenex, Tic Tac, Kinder Bueno and Ferrero Rocher. Most recently, she spent less than a year as chief marketing and commercial officer at Wagamama. She joins Wingstop UK’s senior leadership team alongside Chris Sherriff, chief executive; Paddy Bamford, chief financial officer; Dirujan Sabesan, chief marketing officer; Matt Sheppard, chief operating officer; and Faye Ryder-Humphries, people director. The company said that in the newly created role, Colquhoun will be responsible for Wingstop UK’s next level of growth, with a clear focus on customer centric growth. Her role includes building on the brands “industry-leading strengths of serving flavour, staying authentically grassroots and culturally relevant”. Colquhoun said: “I’m excited to step into this role with a simple north star: the customer comes first. Every decision should start with the customer experience. My focus will be on spending time in our sites, listening to our teams, and doubling down on what our customers love. If the customer wins, we all win, and I’m excited to help Wingstop UK grow by putting customers first, one order at a time!” Sherriff said: “We are delighted to welcome Emma to Wingstop UKI in this newly created role. Emma brings a breadth of industry experience in brand expansion and innovation, which will be pivotal as we continue to deliver flavour to new communities in the UK and Ireland.” Propel revealed earlier this week that Wingstop has secured its debut site in Northern Ireland. The brand will open later this spring in Belfast, after taking the former Frankie & Benny’s site in Boucher Place. The company currently operates 86 sites across the UK and employs more than 3,000 people, with plans to grow to as many as 200 sites within the next five years. Last month, Wingstop UK opened its debut site in Ireland, at the Liffey Valley shopping centre in Dublin. Propel revealed yesterday that Wagamama has hired Claire Farrant as its new chief marketing officer. Farrant joins Wagamama after a year and a half as vice president of mobility and convenience Europe at BP. Prior to that she spent eight years as marketing director at Lidl UK.

Tigermilk CEO Alexis Melikov among speakers at 2026 Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit, open for bookings: Alexis Melikov, chief executive of Tigermilk, will be among the speakers at the 2026 Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit. Melikov will share the story of bringing the brand from Paris and Brussels to London. He will reveal the strategy behind localising the concept, designing photogenic spaces and launching with a bang in a hyper-competitive market. Restaurant Marketer & Innovator European Summit is returning for its eighth edition, and tickets are on sale. The event is a partnership between Propel and Think Hospitality, aiming to build a community, promote the sharing of ideas, recognise talent and define the future of eating out. Bookings are open for the two-day conference as the centrepiece of the January event series, taking place on 20 and 21 January at Hilton Bankside in London. A bigger venue allows for a dual-stage format, meaning more content than ever before. The conference will focus on technology, marcomms strategies, propositions, brand building, the latest market insights, digital developments and diversification of revenue streams. It is designed for customer focused chief executives, senior marketers, technology and innovation teams, as well as investors wanting to better understand the latest marketing, innovation and development opportunities to build market share and grow. For the full speaker schedule, click here. A one-day ticket for operators is £320 plus VAT while a two-day ticket is £575 plus VAT. Supplier tickets are £950 plus VAT for the two days. Propel Premium Club subscribers receive a 20% discount. To book, email: rmi@propelinfo.com.

MPs urged to face music over botched rates reform by visiting their local pub: Labour MPs have been urged to visit their local pub and find out just how badly their botched business rates reform is hurting the industry. Andy Slee, chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates and former Black Sheep Brewery chairman, told the Daily Mail that chancellor Rachel Reeves’ policy was “so, so profoundly bad that it must be a mistake”. Publicans are furious, and about 1,500 have barred Labour MPs from their premises in a growing backlash against Reeves’ budget. Slee said the issue is “something that would impact every single MP in the House of Commons” as pubs are “at the heart of their constituencies”. “I’d encourage Labour MPs to go into their pub and face the music and understand specifically what the consequences of this policy would be,” he added.

Junk food ads banned before 9pm: Junk food adverts will be banned online and from television before 9pm from today (5 January) in an attempt to curb rapidly rising rates of childhood obesity. Until now, restrictions on advertising food and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar applied only to programmes with at least a quarter of the audience aged under 16. Under the new UK-wide regime they will be barred from TV before the 9pm watershed and banned online at all times. Products affected include soft drinks, chocolates, sweets, pizzas, ice cream and high-caffeine energy drinks. Less obvious products, including some breakfast cereals, sweetened porridges, bread products and even sandwiches, will also be included in the rules. Companies that fail to comply face intervention from the Advertising Standards Authority, which can require adverts to be withdrawn. Whether a product is deemed unhealthy will be determined by a scoring system that weighs nutritional value against levels of saturated fat, salt and sugar. The ban will not prevent companies from advertising branding or slogans: it will only apply to food and drink items actually shown on screen. The Food and Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, said members had been voluntarily complying with the new rules since October.

Soho Coffee Co reports increased turnover, cyclical losses: Soho Coffee Co, which operates 27 managed sites, including 12 in London, and a franchise business, has reported turnover rose to £19,472,492 in the year ended 26 January 2025 (2024: £18,705,444) after “stronger trading in the store portfolio”. Loss before tax was £3,197,005 compared to £3,208,677 the year before. The company stated: “Of the total loss, approximately £1.1m (2024: £1.4m) is attributable to net interest accrued in the year on shareholder loans, approximately £1.2m (2024: £900,000) to depreciation and approximately £3m to the accounting impact of adopting IFRS 16 in the year. (We) view this as largely cyclical and remain fully committed to supporting the Soho Coffee brand.” Soho Coffee Co is owned by the Qatar-based Business Trading Company, which has £1bn of assets under management and reports it is “committed to significant further investment in the UK market”. Thomas Bloor became the company’s chief operating officer last May.

Bob Bob Ricard reports turnover drop but lower losses: Bob Bob Ricard, the restaurant brand with sites in Soho and the City of London founded by Leonid Shutov, has reported turnover dropped to £10,800,000 in the year to 30 June 2024 (2023: £12,300,000). Loss before tax for the year was £1.3m compared to £3.8m in 2023. The company, registered as KNBY (UK) at Companies House, stated: “London is known for its vibrant restaurant scene and the competition among upscale restaurants can be fierce.” The group has carried forward losses of £5,100,000 (2023: £3,900,000) which it said it can use to offset future tax charges. After its year-end, the group entered into negotiations with its lenders regarding the refinancing of its existing debt facilities. These discussions are ongoing as of the date of approval of its accounts on 23 December 2025.