British pub group Marston's names industry veteran Justin Platt as CEO

(Reuters) - British pub group Marston's on Friday appointed Justin Platt as its new chief executive officer, effective Jan. 10, 2024.

In a statement, the company said that after having navigated the pub group through the pandemic and more recently, the challenging macroeconomic conditions, incumbent CEO Andrew Andrea agreed to step down with immediate effect.

Andrea, a company veteran, took over the top job in 2021, as long-time boss Ralph Findlay stepped down after around two decades in the role.

Platt, who has more than 30 years of experience in hospitality and consumer-facing businesses, was most recently strategy chief of Britain's Merlin Entertainments.

Wolverhampton-based Marston's, which operates about 1,415 pubs and bars across England, Scotland and Wales, said last month it was aiming for operating profit margin to improve by at least 200 basis points over two to three years.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)