James Brown to step down as CEO of BrewDog Bars: James Brown is to step down as chief executive of BrewDog Bars, after almost two years in the role, and nine years with the Scottish brewer and retailer. Brown joined the business, which was founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie, at the start of 2015 as its retail director, and became managing director of the group’s bar division in September 2020. He worked under fellow G1 Group alumni David McDowall, who left BrewDog at the end of 2022 to become chief executive of Stonegate Group. Brown also previously spent a brief spell as director of operations at Wasabi. Brown has played a key role in BrewDog growing its bars estate to more than 100 sites worldwide. Its managed bar estate currently comprises 60 bars throughout the UK and 16 across Europe. Earlier this summer, BrewDog opened its debut site in Thailand with franchise partner Atalanta Hospitality. BrewDog announced its partnership with Atalanta Hospitality in May as part of its plans to treble its 100-strong bar estate over the next decade. Brown, who is also founder of cashless tipping platform Tipjar, said: “After nine years BrewDog it’s time for me to call last orders! By the time I leave, I will have had the most incredible journey leading our bars business for the best part of a decade. As a bartender in Glasgow during my studies I could never have dreamed of a career in hospitality that took me to all four corners of the planet opening bars and running businesses with the most awesome bunch of people. I was privileged to work with some amazing talented ‘BrewDogers’ both past and present and their energy, drive and creativity led the business to what it is today. I want to thank James Watt, Martin Dickie and David McDowall and the rest of the business for putting their trust in me and for agreeing to do some pretty incredible (sometimes insane) projects over the years. More news on what is next for me over the next few days, but for now, my focus is being thankful to all the staff, all our Equity Punk shareholders and all the wonderful suppliers and partners that helped us build this thing over the years. I will remain a shareholder, huge BrewDog fan and will be cheering this amazing business on from the sidelines.” Earlier this year, James Arrow was promoted from chief financial officer to chief executive of BrewDog after Watt, who co-founded the business with Dickie, announced he was stepping down. This summer, it appointed Andy Simmons as its new operations director for its bars business across the UK and Europe. Simmons was previously at brewer and retailer Greene King for three and a half years, including most recently as operations manager for its Urban Pubs in the south of England. BrewDog Bars features in the Premium Club Turnover & Profits Blue Book, which features 978 companies. BrewDog Bars’ turnover of £63,058,000 for the year ending 31 December 2022 is the 164th 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 Premium Club 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 kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com to upgrade your subscription.

Access Group acquires QikServe: Business management software provider, The Access Group, has acquired QikServe, the digital commerce platform, content management system (CMS), kiosk and mobile order and pay provider to the hospitality sector. QikServe will become part of the group’s hospitality division, which provides IT solutions for all aspects of the hospitality business, from guest booking, EPOS, table management and marketing to procurement, facilities management, training and hotel PMS. QikServe founded in 2011 by entrepreneurs Daniel Rodgers and Ronnie Forbes, developed a patented business-to-business cloud platform for the hospitality sector. The platform allows customers to order and pay for items from a smartphone, tablet or self-service terminal. QikServe’s technology is deployed in more than 8,000 outlets in more than 40 countries and processes hundreds of millions of transactions, delivering in excess of £3bn digital sales for hospitality operators. Access Hospitality’s managing director Champa Magesh said: “QikServe brings us new capabilities and a strong customer base in cafés, quick-service restaurants, hotels, casinos and resorts, which complements our existing UK operations and helps us further our international expansion plans. Our goal is to build an integrated hospitality suite of solutions, on a single platform, which helps operators deliver the best guest experience, makes them more effective and ultimately more profitable. The acquisition of QikServe is an important step in bringing this vision to life through its innovative CMS, kiosk solution, connectivity and data orchestration capabilities.” Rodgers added: “We are excited to be joining forces with Access. We are immensely thankful and proud of the QikServe team, whose passion, tireless dedication and hard work have driven our success, delivering technology for some of the most inspirational hospitality brands worldwide. Without them, none of this would be possible. Being part of The Access Group unlocks huge potential for both businesses, and we can’t wait to get started.” Tony Murphy, chief executive of QikServe, added: “QikServe and Access have been working together for more than five years, delivering best-in-class integrated food and beverage digital ordering solutions for hospitality. This exciting new chapter for QikServe opens new opportunities for digital transformation across our combined customer base.”