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Coronavirus: Boss of Wagamama-owner takes 40% pay cut

CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 02: A general view of a Wagamama restaurant on October 2, 2018 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. Wagamama is a British restaurant chain, serving Asian food based on Japanese cuisine. The noodle chain has been bought by the owner of the Garfunkel’s and Frankie and Benny’s restaurant chains for £357m in cash. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
The CEO of Wagamama owner The Restaurant Group is to take a 40% pay cut and forego his 2019 bonus. (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

The CEO of The Restaurant Group (RTN.L), which owns several popular chain restaurants including Wagamama, Frankie & Benny’s, and Chiquito, will take a voluntary 40% pay cut in response to the impact of coronavirus.

CEO Andy Hornby’s 40% pay reduction reflects the core policy for senior members of the company who are not being furloughed, and will be in place for three months from 1 April, according to The Restaurant Group.

Kirk Davis, CFO, will see a 20% voluntary pay cut for the same period. The smaller pay reduction for the CFO reflects the exceptional workload for the finance function, the company said.

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Both executive directors have also volunteered to waive their bonuses for the 2019 financial year. CEO Hornby, who joined the company in August last year was due to receive £98,000 ($120,220) — 37.5% of his salary prorated to reflect his joining date.

Davis was due to receive 30% of salary, which equates to £109,000.

Read more: Primark chiefs take 50% pay cut with stores closed

The company said that a “very significant number of colleagues in TRG sites have been furloughed” due to the coronavirus.

The coronavirus has had a huge impact on the hospitality industry as UK prime minister Boris Johnson ordered restaurants to close as part of the countrywide coronavirus lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease.

Business groups are sounding the alarm on jobs, warning that huge swathes of the population could be laid off or furloughed in the coming weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said 52% of businesses surveyed planned to use the furlough scheme. The British Chamber of Commerce’s (BCC) survey of 600 businesses found 44% were planning to furlough at least 50% of staff in the next week.

As part of financial measures to help protect workers and jobs, the UK government pledged to pay up to 80% of workers’ wages in a bid to help businesses mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Andy Hornby, chief executive of The Restaurant Group said: “These are unprecedented times for our business and our sector.

Read more: Founder of $10bn hotel startup Oyo gives up salary over COVID-19

“Against this backdrop we have taken decisive action to improve our liquidity, reduce our cost base and downsize our operations. I would like to wholeheartedly thank all of my TRG colleagues for their extraordinary understanding and commitment during this period.”