Giraffe Concepts: Boparan Restaurant Group moves to 'next stage of growth' with directorial changes

Nick Smith, who for the last ten years has been director of purchasing for The Restaurant Group, has taken up the newly created role of commercial director.Simon D'Cruz has been appointed finance director, following Will Franklin's decision to step down.D'Cruz (left) joins the company from Domino's Pizza Group where he was co-finance director and prior to that, held senior finance posts with British Telecom, Delta Airlines and PWC.Sam Wignell, currently brand director for Ed's Easy Diner, will have his role expanded to include Giraffe World Kitchen.Giraffe Concepts Limited, which reported loses for the year of £5.2m last week, purchased Ed's Easy Diner in October 2016.Tom Crowley, chief executive of Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG), said: "Now that we are moving into the next growth phase for BRG, we are delighted to welcome Simon and Nick to the Group and congratulate Sam on his expanded role."They each enjoy first class track records of success in their respective areas of expertise, and this will be invaluable as we pursue our ambitious growth plans for the business, as a whole."BRG is part of Boparan Holdings, a Birmingham-based food production and restaurant business belonging to Ranjit Singh Boparan.Boparan founded food manufacturer 2 Sisters Food Group in 1993, a company which made £815 million in revenue in its last financial year and was listed 7th on the Sunday Times Top Track 100 in 2016.Other businesses held by Boparan include Indian restaurant chain, The Cinnamon Collection, and British turkey and chicken producer, Bernard Matthews Ltd.