Rooney Anand has advised the Greene King Board – parent company of Belhaven – that he’ll step down from the role of chief executive at the end of the current financial year, ending 30 April 2019.
A further announcement concerning succession is expected to be made early in the new calendar year.
During Anand’s 14 years as chief executive he led the transformation of the business from a regional Suffolk brewer to one of the UK’s leading pub retailer and brewer of real ale and delivered significant growth. The ten-year total shareholder return, from the credit crunch in 2008, is nearly 200%.
It has grown from 1,988 pubs (800 managed), turnover of £732m and Ebitda of £190m in 2005 to over 2,800 pubs (1,700 managed), turnover of £2.2bn last year and Ebitda of £487m. The business has also grown from employing 16,000 to 39,000 people.
As well as Belhaven, acquired in 2005, other acquisitions include Hardy’s and Hanson’s in 2006, Cloverleaf, Real Pubs and Capital Pub Company in 2011 and the £774m acquisition of Spirit Pub Company in 2015.