Jean-Michel Orieux named new Comptoir Group chair: Jean-Michel Orieux, former managing director of Paul UK and chief executive of Ping Pong, has been named the new non-executive chair of Comptoir Group, the owner of the Comptoir Libanais brand. Orieux, who has been a non-executive director of the business since August 2022, will succeed Dr Beatrice Lafon as chair of the company’s board with immediate effect. Dr Lafon has resigned from the board with effect from 26 June 2024 to pursue other business interests. At the same time, Ali Aneizi, founder of Tamweel, the boutique M&A advisory firm, has been appointed as a non-executive director of Comptoir Group with immediate effect. Aneizi has extensive sector and professional services experience spanning almost 30 years. He was formerly a corporate finance partner and co-head of Leisure & Hospitality at RSM (previously Baker Tilly) where he spent 18 years, prior to establishing Tamweel in 2013. Following these changes, the Comptoir’s board consists of two executive directors and two independent non-executive directors (including the chair). Following Dr Lafon’s resignation, she will not seek re-election at the company’s Annual General Meeting being held later today. Nick Ayerst, chief executive of Comptoir Group, said: “I would like to thank Beatrice for her considerable contribution to Comptoir during an important period of evolution for the group, and especially for her role in the rebuilding of key business foundations which suffered during covid, the development of our current strategy and the recruitment and induction of our new senior management team. On behalf of the Comptoir team, I would like to wish Beatrice every success in her other ventures. I am delighted that Ali will be joining our board. He brings extensive professional expertise and deep industry knowledge having worked in the sector for many years, he will add real value to the future direction of the company.” Orieux said: “The board and Comptoir team sincerely thank Beatrice for her leadership, challenge and contribution as chair these past two years. Her vision and dedication were instrumental in shaping our business transformation and we have full confidence in her continued success. Having worked closely with Beatrice in the last two years, I am confident that the business will transfer smoothly to the change of chair and new board composition.”
Propel’s next Multi-Site Database to be released on Friday with seven category segmentation including 771 operators from the pub and bar sector: Premium Club members are to receive the next Multi-Site Database on Friday (28 June) at midday. The next Propel Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate, provides details of 3,161 multi-site operators and is now searchable in seven main segments. The database features 927 (29%) operators from the casual dining sector, 771 (24%) pub and bar operators, 524 (17%) cafe bakery operators, 433 (14%) quick service restaurant operators, 254 (8%) hotel operators, 198 (6%) experiential leisure operators and 54 (2%) fine dining operators. The database is updated each month, and this edition includes 40 new companies. Premium Club members also receive access to five additional databases:
the New Openings Database; the Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and
the Who's Who of UK Hospitality. All Premium Club members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to Propel paid-for events including Social Media for Profit (18 July), the Talent and Training Conference (1 October) and Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025). Operators that are Premium Club members are also able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier.
Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.
Team behind The Krazyhouse set to open new music venue in Liverpool: The team behind The Krazyhouse in Liverpool is set to open new music venue in the city. Heavy metal and rock venue K1 Metal Club is set to open in Wood Street on Saturday (29 June). It has involved a conversion of the former Camel Club, also in Wood Street, just a few hundred yards up from the original home of The Krazyhouse. The original Krazyhouse, which is now the home to Electrik Warehouse, played host to major names including Oasis, Radiohead and Stone Temple Pilots. A spokesperson for K1 Metal Club said: “Ever since The Krazyhouse closed down a few years back there hasn’t been a proper metal/rock club left in the city. There are plenty of one-off nights but there’s no singular club doing weekly events. A few key people involved in The Krazyhouse from the 1990s through to the 2010s met up a couple of months ago and started putting plans together for what would become the K1 Metal Club. We think there is still a huge appetite for metal music in the city, across so many key demographics. We welcome those who first turned up to The Krazyhouse back in the day, to new fans who really want a place where they can indulge their musical passions. We also anticipate being able to support fresh and up-and-coming talent, which our city has such a reputation for. To start off with, we are only planning on opening on Saturdays, but we’re hoping it won’t be too long until we can open more often. We are already looking at other nights and working out ideas, and we’ve even already got options to add more rooms! Most of all, we look forward to providing a really unique space that the legendary Liverpool music scene is crying out for.” A Liverpool institution in the 1990s, The Krazyhouse, was one of the biggest clubs in the city, set over three floors, but closed in 2018.
