Andy Hornby will take over at The Restaurant Group, which has more than 650 outlets under brands including Wagamama, Chiquito, Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Benny’s.
In December, it forked out £559million on the hugely popular noodle chain Wagamama, which added another 200 restaurants to its portfolio.
Profits halved to £13.9million last year after it was battered by costs relating to store closures and the Wagamama purchase.
Hornby will replace Andy McCue, who quit abruptly in February for personal reasons.
