Restaurant Group serves up City cheer with new finance chief

After months of indigestible news, investors in The Restaurant Group were today savouring a modest share price bounce when the owner of Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito hired a new finance boss.

The Restaurant Group’s shares have almost halved this year, despite City rumours that private-equity giant Cinven is contemplating a bid.

Brits’ growing love for online shopping means fewer visits to the retail parks Chiquito and others mostly call home. In April, the firm issued its first profit warning in more than a decade.

But today’s announcement that former Monarch Airlines finance boss Barry Nightingale will join TRG on Monday sent shares up 3.6p to 340p.

Nightingale helped turn round Monarch’s business. Before that he worked at gambling firm Betfred.