Exclusive – Knoops strengthens leadership with COO and MD hires: Luxury hot chocolate shop brand Knoops has strengthened its leadership team with four new appointments, as it looks to accelerate its expansion plans here and abroad, Propel has learned. These include Jo Brett, formerly of Pret A Manger and Starbucks, as chief operating officer, and Kai Hepworth, previously of Marston’s and Costa Coffee, as UK managing director. Brett, who will report to Knoops chief executive William Gordon-Harris, brings 25 years food and beverage experience to the business. Over that time, she has held various executive roles including president of Pret’s US operations, chief executive of Hotel Chocolat Saint Lucia, and most recently, senior vice-president of Starbucks Middle East and North Africa for the Alshaya Group. Hepworth, who was previously operations director at Marston’s, Costa Coffee and Bill’s, joins Knoops as managing director of its 25-strong UK business and will report into Brett. Meanwhile, Lush co-founder and former Hotel Chocolat chair, Andrew Gerrie, is stepping up to the role of chairman of Knoops, having joined the company in January as a non-executive director. Gerrie is joined on the board by Martin Long, who has been appointed as a non-executive director. The company said Long brings with him accountancy and management experience, having served as a chief financial officer and chief executive across his career to date. Knoops said that Long has extensive experience in “scaling store based and on-line businesses to international household names” – specifically, as former chief executive of Game Group. He joins Julian Metcalfe, co-founder of Pret A Manger and founder of Itsu, and Alice Avis, former chief executive and chair of the Sanctuary Spa Group, on the Knoops board. Gordon-Harris said: “I’m delighted to welcome such an outstanding group of senior industry figures to Knoops. They bring with them vast experience of helping to grow and run brands of all kinds around the world. Their choice to work at Knoops should be taken as a clear signal that Knoops is set for high paced global growth.” Knoops, which plans to open sites in the US and China this year, expects its footprint in Britain to grow to around 40 sites by the end of this year. Earlier this week, the company opened a site in Norwich, with upcoming openings planned in Cardiff and Colchester. At the end of last year, Knoops opened its first international site, in the City Centre Mirdif shopping mall in Dubai. The company said it was also engaging in franchise conversations in territories like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and Turkey. The business previously said it had a target of 300 in the UK “within a few years” and was bidding to open up to 5,000 stores worldwide in the next decade.

Private security industry demands introduction of business licensing to secure public safety and protect sector’s integrity: The private security industry has united to demanding the introduction of business licensing in order to secure public safety and protect the sector’s integrity. A formal letter to the government has been signed by 11 trade organisations, representing private security companies, and more than 50 executives from the largest security firms in the UK. It follows an announcement by minister for security, Dan Jarvis, at the Home Office Security and Policing Conference, where he confirmed the Security Industry Authority (SIA) now falls entirely within his ministerial portfolio. Jarvis also acknowledged that business licensing was identified as a key reform in the Manchester Arena inquiry. The existing framework, introduced more than 20 years ago, only mandates licensing for individual security operatives, leaving businesses largely unregulated. Currently, the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme covers fewer than 800 security businesses, leaving more than 12,000 operating outside of a structured regulatory framework. Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association and chair of the UK Door Security Association, said as the SIA transitions into its new regulatory role, now is the time to strengthen the industry’s regulatory framework. “The implementation of business licensing for the private security sector is long overdue,” he added. “The current regulatory framework has significant gaps that put public safety at risk, particularly within the broader hospitality and night-time economy sectors, where security plays a critical role. The findings from the Manchester Arena inquiry and the subsequent introduction of Martyn’s Law, make it clear that stronger regulations are needed to enhance security measures, close loopholes, and ensure greater accountability.”