Honouring a Legacy
The Evolv Collection is a pioneering premium hospitality group that was founded by Sir Terence Conran in 1991. Their portfolio spans the most iconic restaurants in modern history, homed in London, Birmingham, Manchester and New York. RLI met up with company CEO Martin Williams to discuss the evolving portfolio, its unique offer and what customers can expect in 2026 and beyond.
Known originally as Conran Restaurants until 2007 when Sir Terence Conran sold the business to Des Gunewardena and
David Loewi, who rebranded the company as D&D, today the business is known as The Evolv Collection after renaming last year.
As custodians of the Conran legacy, The Evolv Collection continue to honour the DNA of the original vision, whilst at the same time bringing that idea into a more modern setting, whether that be through cuisine, design or service ethos.
Today the company operates 33 restaurants across a multitude of brands, along with one hotel on Liverpool Street called South Place Hotel. When he took on the role, Martin wanted to identify and consolidate the collection into a more streamlined offering where each brand understands it purpose and its growth potential.
He begins with what he calls the powerhouse brands that are primed for growth, both nationally and internationally. Within the portfolio these are the Sartoria, Bluebird, Stories and Chophouse & Tavern names. On top of this are the group’s heritage brands such as Quaglino’s, German Gymnasium and Coq d’Argent and these are one-off locations where there is potential for another site or two, but in the main they are institutions in their own right. Finally, there is the iconic selection and these are sites such as Angler and Orrery by Pierre Minotti, where the very highest levels of cuisine and service will be presented to patrons.
“Organising the portfolio in this way is beneficial in the sense that it gives you a solid platform from which to build from,” says Martin Williams, CEO of The Evolv Collection. “It is unique in this day and age for a hospitality group to have such a broad range of opportunities and brands. It gives us the chance to create a clear ambition, statement and message for our different teams and of course for our customers.”
In terms of their operational pipeline, they acquired Vinoteca at the end of last year which brought them two more sites and they are currently converting these into Vinoteca Di Sartoria restaurants. They have also bought back the IP for Miyabi and have plans to open a rooftop restaurant in the middle of London.
This month will see the launch of a Queens Tavern in New York, which will be followed by a Stories Tavern in Birmingham in central England. In addition, work is also underway on the reimagining of Quaglino’s in London to turn it into a top 100 UK site for food to accompany its world-class cabaret offering.
“Alongside all this, we are looking at a second Manchester location. As 20 Stories is the most successful restaurant in Manchester and we are fortunate to have the best General Manager in the city working for us, we feel there is scope to add a second location. The same can be said of 24 Stories in Birmingham which is also part of our wider growth strategy,” comments Williams.
With expansion very much on the agenda, an international market that is of interest to the group is the Middle East. This is an area where they feel that born in Britain, London heritage restaurants will have a strong appeal, because a lot of the demographic who come over to London on holidays are aware of The Evolv Collection and its brands, because of their iconic standing in the industry.
As we move onto the topic of customer experience, Williams explains to us that this can be broken down into the two elements of what is being done in the restaurant and what is being done outside of the restaurant. So within the four walls, they offer an experience to remember through personal touches and an amazing evening that surprises expectations. They also create a continuing series of internal events, such as an amazing wine tasting, a Halloween event or any number of activations that mean the customer has a reason to return.
Outside of the restaurants, the business has set up new websites this year and launched a new loyalty app at the end of 2025, which has already had over 40,000 people sign up. As well as offering benefits, it also acts as an introduction to the portfolio following its renaming last year. It means people are being rewarded, they are being recognised in person when they arrive and they can visit sites they may not have realised were under the Evolv umbrella.
The subject of sustainability is one every company must focus on and Williams feels his previous roles allow him to bring his own journey to the table as it allowed him the understanding of firstly, how to incorporate sustainability and secondly, to realise fully just how important it is in the restaurant industry.
“Without question, when people are making decisions, whether it is a year from now or five years from now, I believe that the sustainability credentials of a restaurant will be a consideration of where they choose to dine. From a business perspective, it will become a non-negotiable if it isn’t already.”
He continues by saying that they have just employed a new Head of Procurement and part of his remit will be sustainability initiatives. “We already do a lot of things very well, but we need a full, comprehensive strategy and roadmap to becoming net zero and that will be an exciting chapter for us.”
Born in London with great credentials in cuisine and hospitality, there is no other group like The Evolv Collection in the sector. Anyone who enters one of their sites will be guaranteed heightened hospitality, an elevated quality of cuisine and be positioned in a premium environment that is aspirational to dine in.
“This is the ethos Sir Terence set out to achieve back in the early 90s. Every one of our restaurants takes you on a journey and our portfolio is a selection of restaurants of such wonderful substance, authenticity, brand DNA and engagement that they make you want to come back. This is how we will look to not only continue our success, but build for the future as we continue to evolve,” concludes Williams.
