Steve Goodyear to stand down as non-executive chairman of Young’s: London operator Young’s has announced that Steve Goodyear is to stand down as its non-executive chairman and will retire from the board following the company’s AGM in July 2024. He will be succeeded by Steve Cooke, currently the senior partner at international law firm Slaughter and May. Goodyear has served as non-executive chairman of Young’s since July 2017. The company said: “The board has planned carefully for Steve’s succession, and having overseen Simon Dodd assume the chief executive role last July, agrees that next year is the right time for Steve to step down.” Goodyear was previously chief executive of the company from 2003 to July 2016, at which point he stood down and became a non-executive director. Over his time at Young’s, he has overseen the transformation of the company into a premium, individual and differentiated managed house operator of pubs with rooms. He originally joined the company in 1995, having previously worked in a number of senior positions across the industry for over 20 years. Cooke will join the board as a non-executive director on 1 November 2023, before transitioning to non-executive chairman in July 2024 after the company’s 2024 AGM. Young’s said that Cooke has a wealth of corporate experience, having joined the firm in 1982 before heading its mergers and acquisitions practice from 2001 to 2016. It said he has advised companies in the consumer, leisure, media and retail sectors and will bring “invaluable experience and an external perspective” to its board. He will retire from Slaughter and May on 30 April 2024. Goodyear said: “Steve Cooke is an exceptional corporate lawyer with an excellent reputation who has risen to senior partner at one of the most admired law firms in the world. He will bring a strong and valuable external perspective to the board, and I'm delighted that, with the full support of the board, he will be joining Young’s as a non-executive director in November before taking over as chairman in July 2024.” Last month, chief executive Simon Dodd told Propel that London is bouncing back strongly, with sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels, and that Young’s is in talks on five pubs. It came after the company reported like-for-like sales were up 4.8% in the seven weeks from 3 April 2023, and that total revenue for the 52 weeks to 3 April 2023 was up 19.4% to £368.9m (2022: £309m). Managed pub like-for-like revenue was up by 12.9% on a 52-week basis, while total group adjusted operating profit was £52.4m (2022: £51.4m). Adjusted pre-tax profit increased 8.1% to £45.2m (2022: £41.8m), while adjusted Ebitda was up 3.6% to £85.5m (2022: £82.5m). Young’s features in the Propel Turnover & Profits Blue Book. Its turnover of £368,900,000 for the year to 3 April 2023 is the 24th highest in the database. Its profit of £45,200,000 is the 12th highest in the database. The Blue Book ranks companies by turnover, profit and profit conversion, listing directors’ earnings for the past five years. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Propel Premium for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. The single subscription rate is £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Email jo.charity@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.