iNTERTAIN, the leisure group formed from the ashes of Regent Inns, has announced the appointment of a non-executive chairman.
Stephen Lambert has held board positions at Punch Taverns and Inn Business Group and is currently non-executive chairman of Laurel Management Holdings, a group which owns LM Funerals, one of the UK's largest independent funeral directors.
John Leslie, iNTERTAIN's chief executive, said Lambert "brings a skill set that will help us immensely at a time when, by focussing on entertainment, we are seeking to create a clear divide between our venues and other operators on the high street".
Lambert said: "I am extremely pleased to be joining the board as non-executive chairman at such an exciting time in iNTERTAIN's development.
"I am very much looking forward to working with the rest of the board to deliver iNTERTAIN's vision to become first choice for entertainment on the high street."
In October last year Leslie and a team of Regent Inns executives bought 60 of the collapsed company's sites from administrators.
The buyout concluded what Leslie described as being the "toughest period of my working life". Regent had issued a number of profits warnings in recent years, and de-listed its shares in an effort to save up to £200,000 in administrative costs.
The group recently relaunched comedy nights across its 10 'Highlight' venues, which occupy sites that were previously Jongleurs outlets. The Jongleurs name has since reverted to its founder, Maria Kempinska.
