Village Hotels shuffles management team, hires ex-The Ivy chief technology officer: Village Hotels has made a number of changes to its management team. This includes confirmation of the appointment of Matt Ward, formerly of Greene King and Hawthorn Leisure, as its new chief financial officer, and the hiring of Jon Davis, formerly of The Ivy Collection, as its new chief technology officer. Propel revealed in March that Ward, who left Greene King at the end of last year after two and a half years, which included time as the company’s group M&A director and finance director of its partnerships and ventures division, had joined Village Hotels. The company said Davis will help shape the next phase of Village Hotels’ technology proposition. This will see him implement new internal and consumer-facing systems across the group to enhance its operations and guest experience. He was most recently chief technology officer across Richard Caring’s restaurant brands, including The Ivy Collection, Caprice Restaurants, The Birley Clubs, and Bill’s. He previously spent three years at Village Hotels as its chief technology officer, and the company said he rejoins at a pivotal time for the business. At the same time, Paul Roberts, previously chief financial officer, has been appointed chief operating officer – a newly created role within the group. Village Hotels’ new hires join the 33-strong group’s wider senior leadership team, led by chief executive Gary Davis, who said: “Strong leadership remains key to delivering exceptional guest and member experiences and driving Village Hotels’ long-term success. I look forward to Paul enhancing our operational excellence in his new role, while Matthew and Jon bring a wealth of experience, making them invaluable additions to our executive team. Today, I believe we have one of the best teams in the leisure industry, highly capable of leading the next phase of Village Hotels’ exciting growth trajectory. This will see us acquire and transform new sites, continue to evolve our customer proposition, and deliver operational best practices to cement Village Hotels as one of the UK’s most exciting hotel and leisure brands.”

 

Brad Carter and Tom Brown to open surf and turf restaurant in London’s King's Cross: Chefs Brad Carter and Tom Brown are collaborating on a new surf and turf restaurant in London’s King’s Cross, one they’ve described as an “easy going, refined celebration of meat and seafood”. Island will be “rooted in the produce of the British Isles”, they told the Standard, but inspired by the American surf shacks that specialise in “generous, homely cooking”. The 90-cover restaurant will be housed inside the Chandelier Room at Mare Street Market in Lewis Cubitt Square. The restaurant will be, the chefs said, “a traditional steakhouse with a coastal twist”, with a cocktail bar on a mezzanine floor above the dining room. “The name is a homage to the islands I have cooked on with Tom throughout our travels, from the rugged British coasts to more tropical shores,” Carter said. “The food is proudly local, with a fierce focus on sourcing the best of what the British Isles have to offer.” Brown, who also owns the Pearly Queen in Shoreditch, said: “Island is about bringing people together over great ingredients, cooked simply. It’s surf and turf fuelled by what we’ve learnt cooking together across actual islands all over the world.” After closing Carters of Moseley in Birmingham in 2023, where he held a Michelin star for eight years, Carter was due to launch Undercroft under a church in Mayfair, but the venture fell through.