Investment and property
Julia Wilkinson
As restaurant director at Shaftesbury Capital Julia Wilkinson has played a major role in central London’s restaurant scene. Working across Shaftesbury Capital’s central London portfolio that includes Carnaby, Soho, Chinatown, Seven Dials, Covent Garden and Fitzrovia she has been pivotal in curating successful restaurant hubs including setting up, developing and evolving the F&B offer at Kingly Court, breathing new life into Chinatown with the reintroduction of regional Chinese cuisines, and helping return Charlotte Street to its restaurant-focused heyday.
Paul Campbell
Paul Campbell is one of the UK’s leading leisure and hospitality investors through Hill Capital Partners, his investment and advisory company. He has invested in and sits on the board for hospitality businesses that include Hawksmoor, The Alchemist, 200 Degrees Coffee, and Yard Sale Pizza and gets involved with businesses either as a founder, an early-stage investor or even alongside private equity funds. Campbell is also an advisor to Only A Pavement Away, a charity that helps the homeless, ex-offenders and ex-service personnel gain employment in the hospitality sector.
David Page
David Page is a well-known face within hospitality having built up and sold Pizza Express, as well as Clapham House Group, the then owner of Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and The Fulham Shore, which includes The Real Greek and sourdough pizza brand Franco Manca. Given the Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s MCA Hospitality Awards, Page’s latest project in 704 Restaurants, an investment vehicle that targets European businesses of between one and 20 sites, with plans to build a maximum of eight brands.
Robin Rowland
Robin Rowland has spent 35 years in the restaurant and hospitality sector and is known for building Yo! Sushi from three to more than 100 sites both in the UK and the US over two decades. He is now a partner at investment company TriSpan and supports a number of restaurant businesses in a non-executive director chairman capacity, including Pho, Rosa’s Thai, Thunderbird Fried Chicken, and Mowgli. He is also a board member for UKHospitality and has previously held non-executive director roles at Tortilla and Fuller’s.
Henry McGovern
Once described as one of the most influential figures on the European restaurant scene, Henry McGovern is co-founder of private equity firm McWin Capital Partners alongside his business partner Steven K Winegar. McWin has been active in the restaurant sector over the past few years and holds investments with Big Mamma, Gail’s Bakery, Sticks ‘n’ Sushi, and Vapiano, many of which have ramped up their expansion as a result.
Luke Johnson
One of the sector’s most successful entrepreneurs, Luke Johnson has previously owned the likes of The Ivy and Le Caprice and oversaw operations alongside Hugh Osmond at Pizza Express as its chairman. Today, Johnson is best known as being chairman of Gail’s bakery, as business he has taken from strength to strength since acquiring through his Risk Capital Partners group back in 2011. Indeed, the arrival of the artisan bakery brand in a new area is seen as a signifier that it’s on the up and up. Even the Liberal Democrats used the Gail’s expansion map to decide what constituencies to target in the recent election.
Harry Heartfield
As senior partner at leisure investment group Edition Capital, Harry Heartfield has a keen sense of key growth areas within the hospitality sector. The group has a broad portfolio, which includes fast casual ‘farm-to-fork’ restaurant chain Farmer J; fast-growing coffee house brand Watchhouse; and vegan street food operator Club Mexicana. Recently, the group has turned its attention more towards immersive experiences, with Edition also now backing urban axe-throwing brand Whistle Punks.
Hugh Osmond
Known as the man who, with Luke Johnson, turned Pizza Express into a household name, Hugh Osmond’s impact on the hospitality sector has been significant. The entrepreneur and businessman also founded the Punch Taverns brand and, more recently, the Various Eateries group. He’s a man who knows what consumers want, as demonstrated by the successful ongoing expansion of that group’s Coppa Club and Noci restaurant brands.
Chris Miller
The creator of hospitality incubator White Rabbit Fund, former Soho House Group commercial director Chris Miller supports the growth of a wide range of restaurant businesses including Lina Stores, Kricket and Island Poké. Billed as development platform, White Rabbit Fund offers investment alongside a full suite of creative and hospitality services including operations, culinary, finance, people, marketing and design.
Ratnesh Bagdai
The one-time finance director of Caprice Holdings, Ratnesh Bagdai has carved out a niche with his specialist restaurant accountancy firm RNB. His is also an investor and key figure within a number of restaurant businesses including Tapas Brindisa Restaurants and Bars (which he co-founded with Monika Linton), Windsor pub The Bailiwick, chef Tom Brown’s Pearly Queen and Clare Lattin and Tom Hill’s recently launched Camille restaurant in Borough Market.
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