Paul Symonds to leave Bay Restaurant Group

Bay Restaurant Group (BRG) has ring-fenced its La Tasca and Ha Ha Bar & Grill brands and is effectively being lined up for sale after chief executive Paul Symonds handed in his resignation.

The group has received several expressions of interest in the business in recent months and Symonds' departure at the end of this month has prompted the group to re-jig its operations.

Unconfirmed reports have put a price tag of £100m on the business. The interest was unsolicited, a spokeswoman said, and was a "testament to how well the group's brands have been doing in such a tough market".

Symonds, who joined Laurel Pub Company, which owned BRG prior to going into administration in 2008, is leaving to "pursue a number of acquisition opportunities in the restaurant sector", she added.

As well as ring-fencing BRG's La Tasca and Ha Ha Bar & Grill brands, the group has shifted its wet-led Slug and Lettuce into sister company, Town & City Pub Company.

"When Paul handed in his resignation the board decided to realign certain activities, with Slug and Lettuce moving over to T&C," the spokeswoman added.

Suzanne Baker, commercial director at both BRG and T&C, will take on responsibility for La Tasca and Ha Ha, she added.

Symonds' departure was "totally his decision", the spokeswoman said. The executive had taken the reins at Laurel Pub Company in August 2006, having moved from Spirit Group where he'd headed the company's pubs and bars division.

Along with other senior management figures Symonds took a stake in the business when it was put through a pre-pack administration in July last year.

Executives involved in the deal were being incentivised with what was described at the time as a "significant equity stake", though terms were not revealed.