Burger King UK appoints new chair
Fast food chain Burger King UK (BKUK) has announced that Lance Batchelor has been appointed chair.
Batchelor will join the board from Friday 1st December, and will replace Martin Robinson who is stepping down from the board and his role as chair following six years.
BKUK stated that Batchelor has extensive leadership experience with a strong background in hospitality, brand marketing and retail, as well as deep franchising expertise. He is currently chair of Ometria, the AI-powered marketing platform, and Appello, the digital health monitoring business. He is also a non-executive director of the Royal Navy.
During Robinson’s tenure, the brand underwent portfolio expansion, menu innovations and digitisation of its operations. In this time, BKUK extended its owned estate to 280 sites, through the opening of almost 100 new restaurants and the consolidation of its franchise base through the acquisition of 10 franchisees comprising 222 sites. BKUK’s total restaurant base is now 554.
Alasdair Murdoch, CEO of BKUK, said: “We look forward to welcoming Lance to Burger King UK as we continue to deliver against our ambitious growth plans. Lance brings with him extensive experience in the consumer and hospitality sector as well as a strong background in digital and marketing. We are excited about how these experiences and perspectives will help the business continue to grow and improve.
“I would also like to express our gratitude to Martin for his exceptional service to BKUK over the past six years. He has been an invaluable source of strategic counsel to myself and the board, and his contributions leave BKUK in a position of strength as we focus on delivering continued sustainable growth.”
Batchelor said: “Burger King UK is a fantastic and well-established brand with a dynamic and diversified business model, strong product offering and clear strategy for growth. I am fully committed to supporting Alasdair and the BKUK team to deliver against its strategy and am excited about the opportunities across the business.”
Robinson said: “Burger King UK is an excellent business with a fantastic team, and it has been an honour to serve as chair for the last six years. My time with the business has been extremely rewarding and I wish Lance and the business all the best in the future.”
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