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41-541: The concept was spawned by Luke Johnson in 2000 and, over five years, expanded to thirty restaurants. In September 2005, Richard Caring bought the chain from Johnson for £60m. During this period of ownership, twenty more restaurants were added to the chain and, in May 2007 they, along with five Belgo and Bierodrome restaurants, were acquired by Tragus Group Ltd for £140m, owner of the brands Cafe Rouge , Bella Italia , Potters Bar & Kitchen and Huxleys. In 2007 Targus signed

82-524: A 10% deduction for administrative and other costs paid by credit or debit card, are now distributed through the payroll system to restaurant staff. All Tragus Group employees are now paid tips in addition to the National Minimum Wage. Luke Johnson (businessman) Luke Oliver Johnson (born 2 February 1962) is a British entrepreneur . He is a former chairman of the Pizza Express chain,

123-533: A 2011 documentary film detailing the events leading up to the financial crash of 2008. The film takes its title from Alan Greenspan 's admission to US Congress that he had been mistaken to put so much faith in the self-correcting power of free markets . Johnson holds honorary degrees from Heriot-Watt University , the University of Bath , the University of the West of England and the University of West London . Johnson

164-657: A Great Host”, published by John Wilkes Publishing in 2024. Johnson is also a former columnist for Management Today. Johnson served on the advisory board of defunct cultural and political magazine Standpoint . Johnson was appointed Chair of the Almeida Theatre in Islington, London in 2016. Johnson is the former chairman of the Institute of Cancer Research , assuming that role in August 2013 and standing down in August 2021. He

205-556: A London bar chain. Johnson is also the majority owner of contract catering firm Genuine Dining. In May 2015, Risk Capital Partners announced its purchase of a majority stake in Zoggs, the global swimming products brand. In 2016 he acquired a 12.5% stake in Elegant Hotels Group. He joined the board of Elegant Hotels as a non-executive director in May 2017. In November 2019, it was revealed that Johnson had hired bankers to prepare

246-731: A London-based chain of Japanese restaurants specialising in home delivery. In the same month he also purchased a majority stake in casual-dining firm Ego Group, which was merged in April 2011 with pizza business Rocket Restaurants to form 3Sixty Restaurants, with Johnson as chairman. In May 2011, Risk Capital Partners assumed a shareholding in Bread Ltd. The group includes retail bakery and cafe Gail's, which has twenty-two bakeries in London and sells its products through Waitrose, Harvey Nichols and Ocado. In June 2013 he became chairman and 50% owner of Grand Union,

287-656: A concession agreement with holiday park operator Center Parcs UK and Ireland This led to the opening of Strada Restaurants at the Company’s Sherwood and Longleat sites and was Expanded in 2014 with the opening of a Strada Restaurant at Center parcs new village in Woburn. Following Strada’s sale in 2014 CDG operated the Center parcs sites as legacy restaurants until 2016 when they were rebranded as Bella Italia . The Woburn site continued to operate as Strada until 2020, when it closed and

328-436: A focus on costs and cash-flow, with an expectation that most will be sold within four years. Approximately 1,100 non-core pubs had been sold between 2011 and 2013. The company and its subsidiaries have issued loan notes in two separate tranches; tranche A (£1,449 million of debt secured on 2,356 pubs) and tranche B (£884 million of debt secured on 1,675 pubs). In their 2013 annual report, approved on 24 September 2013,

369-407: A media analyst at stockbroker Grieveson Grant (subsequently Kleinwort Benson Securities). Johnson is the former executive chairman, chairman of the remuneration committee and shareholder of Patisserie Holdings, which was the ultimate owner of the trading brands Patisserie Valerie , Druckers Vienna Patisserie, Philpotts, Baker & Spice, and Flour Power City Bakery. On 19 May 2014 the company

410-498: A private equity fund, Patron Capital , acting in concert with Heineken International who acquired 1,900 of Punch's pubs as part of the deal. The company was established by former PizzaExpress head Hugh Osmond and Café Rouge founder Roger Myers in 1997, when they bought the Bass Brewery portfolio of public houses. In 1999, Punch purchased Inn Business Group plc, and later Allied Domecq 's pubs for £3 billion, beating

451-571: A rival bid from Whitbread . After the deal, Punch spun off its managed pubs into a separate division, Punch Retail, which was later renamed Spirit Group . In 2002, Punch demerged the Spirit Group and then floated itself on the London Stock Exchange . Punch acquired its larger rival Pubmaster in November 2003 for £168 million, which included taking on Pubmaster's £1 billion debt;

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492-566: A weekly column on business for The Sunday Times between 2015 and 2021. He wrote a weekly essay for the Financial Times from 2007 to 2015. From 1998 to 2006 he wrote "The Maverick", a weekly business column for The Sunday Telegraph . An anthology of "The Maverick" columns was published by Harriman House in 2007. Johnson wrote “Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business Is Easier Than You Think”, published by Penguin in 2011. Johnson co-wrote with Graeme Boyd “Throwing Parties: A Guide to Being

533-729: Is a former chairman of the Royal Society of Arts , completing a three-year term in October 2012. He was governor of The University of the Arts between 2000 and 2006. He was also chairman of Action on Addiction from 2011 to 2012. In June 2012, Johnson was appointed chairman of Startup Britain, the national campaign to stimulate start-up growth in the UK. Johnson is also chairman of Career Colleges, an organisation planning 40 vocational colleges for 14- to 19-year-olds. In October 2013, Johnson co-founded and launched

574-438: Is also a director of two theatre production partnerships, Playful Productions and Fiery Dragons, as well as director of AKA UK, a marketing agency to the live entertainment industry. In October 2011, Johnson became a non-executive director of Metro Bank plc. He was a non-executive director of art publisher Phaidon Press from August 2010 to October 2012. In 1996 Johnson co-founded Integrated Dental Holdings, expanding it to become

615-607: Is married to Liza. They have three children and live in London. Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire . It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index until its sale in 2016 for £403 million to

656-468: The Royal Society of Arts and Channel 4 . Johnson calls himself a " projector ", in line with the 17th-century term for a man involved in many different businesses. He is currently the Chairman of Gail's bakery and Brighton Pier Group, among other businesses. He is a former owner of The Ivy , Le Caprice and J Sheekey restaurants in London and a former part-owner of Giraffe Restaurants . Luke Johnson

697-413: The intellectual property of the brand to Honeycomb Project Management when Hope and Greenwood entered into administration in 2015. Luke Johnson became chairman and part-owner of Giraffe Restaurants in 2004. In 2013 he stepped down as chairman, upon Giraffe's sale to Tesco for a reported £50m. In 1993, Johnson and Osmond took control of Pizza Express , with Johnson becoming chairman. They expanded

738-649: The British charity founded in 1985 that aims to "bring about positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people." In June 2009, the company was found to be threatening to dismiss wait staff who do not get customers to pay tips on credit cards rather than in cash. Credit card tips were used by the company to subsidise wages (which are usually the legal minimum) whereas cash tips go directly to wait staff. In line with changes to tipping legislation, which came into effect on 1 October 2009, Tragus Ltd. reviewed and updated its policies to ensure that all tips, after

779-510: The Centre for Entrepreneurs, a non-profit think-tank aiming to address the "...under-representation of entrepreneurs in the public eye" and to "...promote entrepreneurship to government, media, the private sector (including big businesses) and the general public." Johnson is a former chairman of StageOne, a charity in support of new producers of quality commercial theatre. With Stephen Lambert and Christopher Hird, Johnson co-produced The Flaw ,

820-604: The Competition Commission. It challenges the pubcos which operate a tie to prove its benefits by giving lessees the choice between a tied or free of tie lease." The report also raises issues regarding the actual conduct of pubcos in dealing with struggling tenants. Shortly following the committee's report CAMRA issued a 'Super-Complaint' forcing the Office of Fair Trading to investigate this within 90 days. The OFT published its report on 22 October 2009. The report largely cleared

861-465: The UK's largest chain of dental surgeries, with over 500 dentists. The firm was sold in 2006 for over £100 million. From 2004 to 2006 Johnson was director of Dollar Financial Group Inc, a US NASDAQ traded corporation with $ 80m EBITDA . He was involved in parcel delivery and maritime commerce through Nightfreight and American Port Services. He served as a non-executive director of Elderstreet VCT plc for ten years. Through Risk Capital Partners, Johnson

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902-451: The business from 12 owned restaurants to over 250, and the share price from 40p to over 900p. After selling the business in 1999 Johnson started Signature Restaurants, a ‘crown jewels’ collection of London restaurants which included The Ivy and Le Caprice, as well as the Belgo chain. He also started Strada restaurants from scratch, taking the chain to 30 units. He sold both businesses in 2005;

943-414: The business to continue trading in its current form. The following day Johnson loaned £10 million to the business, and also provided a £10 million bridging loan to enable the company to execute a share placing, which occurred later the same day. On 22 January 2019, the firm announced that it had collapsed into administration following failed talks with banks, which the company stated was a "direct result of

984-423: The chief financial officer, had been suspended from his role. Prior to suspension the business had a market capitalisation of over £500 million. On 11 October, the company announced that there was a material shortfall between the reported financial status and the current financial status of the business and that without an immediate injection of capital the directors were of the view that there would be no scope for

1025-544: The company's liabilities were taken over by Patron Capital & May Capital. Punch was sold to US investment management company Fortress Investment Group in 2021. Fortress is 70% owned by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala . Punch had 4,096 pubs as at 17 August 2013. Of this total, 2,990 were classed as core. The company's stated aim is to make each core pub "the best of its type in its marketplace". The remaining 1,106 are classed as non-core. The company operates non-core pubs to maximise short-term returns with

1066-403: The directors stated that the group was in compliance with its covenants and had adequate cash resources for the foreseeable future. However, the directors stated that it was in the best interests of all stakeholders to achieve a consensual renegotiation of both of the securitisations. If a covenant breach were to occur and if loan note holders were to require immediate repayment, then the ability of

1107-445: The financial backers behind the newly formed Tattershall Castle Group (TCG). In December 2005, Punch agreed to re-acquire the Spirit Group for £2.68 billion which since 2002 had been owned by the private equity firms Blackstone , Texas Pacific and CVC Capital Partners . In 2006, the company sold its Old Orleans pub chain, which it had acquired when it bought Spirit Group, to Regent Inns. Punch also sold 290 Spirit sites to

1148-494: The government's response to COVID-19 as "a campaign of fear" and in November 2020 Risk Capital Partners funded a media consultant for the COVID Recovery Group of anti-lockdown MPs. Johnson was chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation from January 2004 to January 2010, during which time he appointed a new CEO, restructured the board and saw the organisation enjoy record ratings, revenues and surplus. Johnson wrote

1189-453: The group to continue as a going concern would be in doubt. Punch Taverns was one of the companies reviewed as part of a 2009 House of Commons monopolies inquiry into pub groups. On 13 May 2009, the report was published, and it "raises a series of questions about the pub company (pubco) tied pub business model and calls on the Government to act urgently, in particular, to refer the matter to

1230-536: The move took the group to more than 7,000 pubs and made it at the time the largest pub operator in the UK. After completing this deal, Punch later bought InnSpired Inns plc , and then Avebury Taverns. Meanwhile, Spirit Group (at that time independent from Punch Taverns) expanded when it acquired Scottish & Newcastle 's 1,450-strong pub estate in 2003, beating off rival Mitchells & Butlers . In September 2005, Spirit Group sold its "City Nights" portfolio of in excess of 180 pubs and clubs, en-bloc, to Alchemy -

1271-817: The private companies Giraffe, Druckers and Baker & Spice. The latter two businesses became part of Patisserie Holdings. In December 2009, Johnson's investment partnership Risk Capital Partners Ltd acquired the Tootsie's restaurant chain, for which it was awarded the "Deal of the Year" prize at the 2010 Retailer's Retailer Awards ceremony. Johnson also purchased in 2010 a stake in artisan bakery Flour Power City, which supplies restaurants, hotels, and caterers. Flour Power City also operates stalls in locations such as Borough Market in London . This business also became part of Patisserie Holdings. September 2010 saw Johnson purchase Feng Sushi,

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1312-743: The private equity firm GI Partners . In March 2008, Punch withdrew from a bid to merge with Mitchells & Butlers. On 22 March 2011, Punch announced that as part of a strategic review it would demerge its managed pub division. Spirit Pub Company was established as a separate company and took over 803 managed pubs and 549 leased pubs. This included the branded pubs Chef & Brewer , Taylor Walker Pubs , Fayre & Square, Original Pub Company, Flaming Grill Pub Company, John Barras Pub Company, Wacky Warehouse and Good Night Inns. Each shareholder in Punch received one share in Spirit Pub Company. The demerger

1353-519: The sale of Gail's. Among Johnson's business maxims are that, consciously or not, every successful company that he knows has followed kaizen , the Japanese management philosophy of constant, incremental improvements, often driven from the bottom up. Johnson supported Brexit and backed the Vote Leave campaign group in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum . Johnson has described

1394-583: The significant fraud". Since 2000, Johnson has run Risk Capital Partners Ltd, focusing on private equity deals. Risk Capital Partner's portfolio includes the directory publisher Superbrands, fashion chain East, and GRA , the UK's largest greyhound track owner. East went into administration in January 2018. In May 2010, Johnson became a strategic investor in Beer & Partners, the UK's largest business investment agency. He

1435-587: The student newspaper. This gave the pair the inspiration to go into business and they began running the Era nightclub in Oxford . By the time of graduation, he and Osmond were running businesses from software to clubs. Johnson initially studied medicine but, like Hugh Osmond, only completed the first part of the course, graduating from Oxford University with a BA in Physiological Sciences in 1983. He began his career as

1476-754: The total proceeds from these two disposals were in excess of £90 million. Whilst chairman of the Belgo group, Johnson took part in the BBC programme " Back to the Floor ", a programme in which top executives spent a week at the "coal face" of their business. After being confronted during filming about low wages, Johnson stormed off the show, unwilling to listen to or act on criticism from employees about poor working conditions. From 1993 to date, Johnson has been involved as director and/or owner of various companies in retailing, pubs and bars, including Whittard of Chelsea , My Kinda Town and

1517-514: Was a founder, part-owner and director of recruitment business InterQuest Group plc . Risk Capital Partners is also a former investor in advertising and design group Loewy, which was sold in 2006, and formerly a part-owner of fresh fish distributor Seafood Holdings, sold in 2010 for £45m in total. Risk also held a stake in car park technology provider APT controls until 2014. In February 2013 Johnson became an investor and shareholder in retro confectionery retailers Hope and Greenwood , later selling

1558-478: Was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market . On 10 October 2018, the company's shares were suspended from trading. An announcement included information that the board had been notified of significant and potentially fraudulent accounting irregularities, that a potential material mis-statement of the company's accounts had significantly impacted the company's cash position, and that Chris Marsh,

1599-636: Was born on 2 February 1962 in Slough , the son of historian Paul Johnson and of Marigold Johnson, and the brother of Daniel Johnson . He spent his early years in Iver , Buckinghamshire , and was educated at the state run Langley Grammar School in Langley , Berkshire , and at Magdalen College, Oxford . While at university Johnson, together with fellow student Hugh Osmond (later founder of Punch Taverns ), interviewed Sir Richard Branson on his houseboat in London for

1640-504: Was effective on 1 August 2011. Spirit was subsequently acquired by Greene King in 2015. In October 2015, Punch disposed of its 50% holding in Matthew Clark , a drinks wholesaler and distributor, to Conviviality Plc. In December 2016, the company accepted a takeover bid totalling £403 million (or 180 pence per share). Around 1,900 pubs were to be sold to Heineken International for £305 million. The remaining 1,300 pubs and

1681-1060: Was rebranded as a new concept restaurant called Amalfi. In September 2012, Strada joined the Nectar loyalty card reward scheme as a redemption partner. In July 2013, Strada began a partnership with the Gourmet Society, offering their members discounts on production of a Gourmet Society restaurant discount card. In September 2014, forty three of Strada restaurants were bought by Hugh Osmond 's Sun Capital Partners from Tragus Group (renamed Casual Dining Group ) for £37m, retaining their existing management team, led by James Spragg. In 2017, over twenty restaurants closed, in turn, many other branded restaurant companies also closed many sites in 2017 and 2018. As of November 2024, Strada has one site in London Southbank and thirteen Coppa club sites (with two sites of Strada turning into one Coppa Club). In March 2013, Strada were official partners of Comic Relief ,

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