Casual dining chain Prezzo lures BrewDog exec as new chief

The boss of BrewDog's bars division is to become the next chief executive of Prezzo, the privately owned casual dining chain.

Sky News understands that James Brown, whose resignation from BrewDog was announced on Wednesday, is leaving to run the restaurant operator.

Industry sources said his appointment would be unveiled by Prezzo on Thursday.

Prezzo, which is owned by Cain International, trades from just under 100 outlets and employs more than 2,000 people.

Its performance has been stabilised under the interim leadership of Dean Challenger, who will resume his former role as chief financial officer, according to insiders.

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Prezzo came close to collapse during the pandemic, turning to a restructuring plan to close about 40 loss-making restaurants.

Sources said it was now back in expansion mode, with a pipeline of potential sites being examined.

Mr Brown spent nine years at BrewDog, including several as chief executive of its bars division.

Prior to that, he was at G1 Group, now called Scotsman Group, Scotland's largest independent hospitality operator.

Prezzo declined to comment.