Wed 1st May 2019 - Sky News – TRG to appoint Andy Hornby as CEO Sky News – TRG to appoint Andy Hornby as CEO: The Restaurant Group (TRG) is to appoint Andy Hornby, the former HBOS boss, as its new chief executive. Hornby, the joint chief operating officer of Ladbrokes' parent company GVC Holdings, is close to being appointed as Andy McCue's successor, reports Sky News. TRG's board is understood to have identified Hornby as its preferred candidate in recent days, prompting him to tender his resignation from GVC, according to a source close to the gaming group. An announcement could be made as soon as Thursday morning (2 May), the source said..TRG has a market value of just over £700m, having seen its shares fall by more than a third during the past 12 months. McCue said in February that he would step down because of "extenuating personal circumstances", having only completed the acquisition of Wagamama in December from Duke Street Capital despite objections from a vocal minority of shareholders. TRG's board, which is chaired by Debbie Hewitt, is said by a leading shareholder to have conducted an extensive search for McCue's successor. In March, the company unveiled a stronger-than-expected set of full-year results but signalled that it would seek to exit a number of poorly performing outlets in the coming months. As well as Wagamama and Garfunkel's, the company operates the Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito and Brunning & Price brands. It operates more than 650 sites across the UK, and is expanding its airport concessions and pub restaurant businesses. Hornby spent nearly two-and-a-half years at the helm of HBOS, which had grown into Britain's biggest mortgage lender at the time. Prior to his stint at HBOS, Hornby had enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of corporate life, including senior roles at Asda under Archie Norman, the former Conservative MP who now chairs Marks & Spencer. After a nine-month spell on the sidelines, Hornby became chief executive of Alliance Boots, the owner of Boots The Chemist, which at the time was controlled by the private equity giant KKR. Hornby stayed for less than two years at Alliance Boots, resigning in March 2011 before resurfacing four months later as the boss of Coral, the high street bookmaker.‎ Since then, he has won plaudits internally for his work running the day-to-day operations of some of the UK's biggest gambling businesses. GVC, the quoted company which owns the chain as well as online betting brands such as partypoker, has been wrestling with shareholder unrest in recent months following a decision by its chairman and chief executive to offload shares worth £20m. It has kicked off a search for a new chairman to replace Lee Feldman, with Kenny Alexander, the chief executive, also expected to step down in the next couple of years.