Yahoo Finance Frankie & Benny's owner parts company with finance chief
The finance director of the owner of Frankie & Benny's and Garfunkel's is stepping down less than a year into a turnaround plan prompted by a string of profit alerts, the company has confirmed.
Barry Nightingale is to leave The Restaurant Group with immediate effect, the company said - hours after his departure was first reported by Sky News.
The group is now searching for a successor to Mr Nightingale, who was previously a finance director at airline Monarch and bookmaker Betfred.
Debbie Hewitt, chair of The Restaurant Group, said: "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Barry for the valuable contribution that he has made over the past year, as we began the Company's turnaround process, which continues to progress well."
The circumstances surrounding Mr Nightingale's exit were unclear, although a leisure analyst pointed out that he had been hired by the company prior to the arrival of Andy McCue, The Restaurant Group's new chief executive, late last year.
Mr Nightingale's departure makes him the latest in a string of executives to leave the company in the last 12 months.
His predecessor, Stephen Critoph, was ousted after a prolonged period of poor financial performance, while Danny Breithaupt, the former chief executive, left in August.
Last month, The Restaurant Group, which operates nearly 500 sites across the UK, announced the outcome of a strategic review alongside a £39.5m loss for last year.
The company, which also owns the casual dining chains Chiquito and Coast to Coast, said it would cut prices and revive promotional activity aimed at reconnecting customers with Frankie & Benny's.
It has also hired a number of other executives, including a former colleague of the new chief executive during his time at Paddy Power (EUREX: 27913021.EX - news) .
Mr McCue warned that rising costs from business rates revaluations, the apprenticeship levy and the National Living Wage would add significantly to The Restaurant Group's cost base from this year.
