Mon 10th Oct 2016 - Richoux Group set to hire Jonathan Kaye as chief executive Richoux Group set to hire Jonathan Kaye as chief executive: Richoux Group, operator of Richoux, Dean’s Diner and Villagio restaurants, is set to hire Jonathan Kaye as chief executive. Kaye, who is the founder and former chief executive of Prezzo, will also be appointed as a director and also have the right to acquire up to 20% of the shares in Richoux Group through a share incentive scheme. The company stated: “The appointment of Jonathan Kaye as chief executive does not require shareholder approval. However the board also wishes to appoint him as a director, which the board proposes be conditional upon a shareholder vote. This is because the board believes that such a vote is appropriate to ensure that the appointment of Mr Kaye has the support of shareholders in the company. Further, the board is proposing that an incentive share grant be made to Jonathan Kaye which will give him the right to acquire up to 23,027,403 ordinary shares in the capital of the company, representing 20% of the fully diluted ordinary share capital of the company. The share incentive will be subject to a minimum holding period and share price targets that will provide a substantial return to all shareholders. The subscription price for the ordinary shares to be granted under share incentive is proposed to be 10p per ordinary share. Due to the size of the share incentive grant, the board believes it is appropriate to ensure that the share incentive has the support of shareholders. A number of Jonathan Kaye’s extended family members have an existing shareholding in the company. In particular, Phillip Kaye, the uncle of Jonathan Kaye, is the company’s largest shareholder, holding 22,081,814 ordinary shares in the company, representing 24% of the company’s current issued share capital. Due to the close family link, Jonathan Kaye and members of his extended family are considered a concert party for the purposes of Rule 9 of The City Code on Takeovers and Mergers. If the new ordinary shares pursuant to the share incentive are issued in full, the concert party will be beneficially interested in up to 41.3% of the enlarged ordinary share capital of the company. Accordingly, the company is seeking the panel on Takeovers and Mergers’ consent to waive the obligation on the concert party to make a general offer that would otherwise arise as a result of the issue of ordinary shares under the share incentive.” Kaye stepped down as chief executive of Prezzo and moved to a non-executive role in June last year. Last month, Richoux Group reported turnover up 5.7% to £7.08m in the 28-week period ending 10 July 2016. Adjusted Ebitda decreased to £0.28m (2015: £0.79m). The company made a pre-tax loss of 0.58m, compared with a profit of £0.32m the year before. Ed Standring also stood down as managing director at the end of September and teamed up with Jamie Barber, co-founder of Cabana, and Ian Neill, chief executive of Wagamama, to acquire London gourmet burger group Haché.