Thu 30th Jan 2025 - Honest Burgers hires Kevin Styles as CEO, forecast to hit full year revenue of £60m following record Christmas trading Honest Burgers hires Kevin Styles as its new CEO, forecast to hit full year revenue of £60m following record Christmas trading: Honest Burgers, the Active Partners-backed business, has hired Kevin Styles as its new chief executive. Propel revealed last month that Styles had stepped down from the same role with the Jamie Oliver Group, which he joined in July 2022, having previously been managing director at Vue International. Styles’ other previous roles included chief executive (Europe & UK) for American Golf, managing director at both Best Buy Europe and Kingfisher, and group marketing director at Thomas Cook. During his time at Jamie Oliver Group, he helped grow its international restaurant portfolio to more than 70 sites and last year saw the business’ return to the UK market with an opening in London’s Covent Garden. Honest Burgers, which operates 39 locations across the UK, said Styles’ appointment marks “an exciting chapter” as it “continues to grow and innovate’. Last month, the business launched its first Smash + Grab site – its new quick service restaurant format focused on smash burgers – in London’s Old Broad Street. The company said that after a strong first half of 2024, it sustained its momentum in the second half and is forecast to finish the year ending January 2025 with revenue exceeding £60m, with 10% growth in like-for-like sales, and Ebitda forecasted to grow by 50% year on year. The business also achieved three consecutive weekly sales records leading up to Christmas and a new record for covers volume, while half its locations reported new weekly sales records in December. Styles replaces Thomas Kelly, who stepped up to chair last year after less than a year in the role of chief executive. “We’re really excited to welcome Kevin to the Honest family,” Kelly said. “His extensive experience and forward-thinking vision make him the perfect leader to guide us into our next phase and we look forward to seeing the impact he will have on our brand.” Styles added: “This brand has a unique opportunity to really disrupt a sector that is evolving quickly. The quality of the offer, highly competitive value, a very strong and distinctive brand all combined with amazing restaurant teams provide an incredible platform for sustainable growth.” Co-founded by friends Tom Barton and Philip Eeles in Brighton in 2009, Honest Burgers revealed plans last year to quadruple in size by 2030. In the year ending January 2024, Honest Burgers reported like-for-like sales growth of 21%, with turnover increasing by £8.1m to £56.4m, up 17% versus the previous year. Honest Burgers features in the Propel 500 report, an unparalleled resource that profiles the UK’s leading hospitality operators ranked by turnover – which is available now. This comprehensive report provides more than 90,000 words of analysis, delving into company histories, leadership structures, site numbers and financial performance, making it an essential resource for industry professionals. A list of the operators included can be discovered now by visiting the Propel 500 page on Propel’s website. The guide is delivered in two parts: an introductory PDF, featuring deep dives into the top 25 companies and 6,500 words of insight from Propel’s expert writers, and a fully searchable Excel sheet, offering easy access to all the data. Key highlights include Mark Wingett’s exploration of mergers and acquisitions shaping the Top 500’s future, Tim Street’s view of the UK’s franchise market, and Phil Pemberton’s insights into experiential leisure as a hospitality cornerstone. Katherine Doggrell examines developments in UK hotels, while Mark Bentley, business development director at HDI, identifies emerging growth sectors, and Maria Vanifatova, founder of Meaningful Vision, analyses trends in QSRs. Propel 500 is available now for £595 plus VAT. Existing Premium Club members can purchase it for £395 plus VAT. Premium Club members will receive the report for free on Friday, 28 February at 9am. Order the Propel 500 report today by emailing: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com.