IRC appoints ex-Living Room director

Individual Restaurant Company, the operator of the Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill concepts, has appointed a new operations director and added the role of commercial director to its board.

Danny Fox, the former managing director of Living Room, is to join the company as operations director, while Iain Donald, the incumbent operations director, is to take up the new role of commercial director.

The listed group, which operates 34 eateries, is expected to announce the boardroom changes in the coming weeks.

Fox left Living Room shortly after the management of its parent company Premium Bars & Restaurants (PBR) was taken over by Orchid Group, the 300-strong pub group backed by GI Partners.

Orchid was appointed to run the business by RBS, which assumed control of PBR after it entered administration.

Fox had been with Living Room more-or-less since its inception in the late 1990s.

A source at IRC said it had recruited Fox as he was "a well-proven operator of such businesses".

Donald, a former Compass and Est Est Est director, has been with the company for a number of years, overseeing the rollout of IRC's two brands.

He is to step across to his new role to bring more commercial focus as the group looks to realise efficiencies in its operations and supply chain.