Belhaven owner Greene King has appointed Nick Mackenzie as its new chief executive. Mackenzie will join the company on 1 May, succeeding Rooney Anand, who announced in November he would step down at the end of the financial year.

Mackenzie joins from Merlin Entertainments where he is currently responsible for the Midway portfolio of attractions, which comprises more than 100 businesses around the world including Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and SeaLife centres.

He qualified as a chartered surveyor, working first with Bass and then with Allied Domecq as its acquisitions director before joining Burger King UK as development director.

Mackenzie joined The Tussauds Group in 2002, which was subsequently acquired by Merlin in 2007, where he remained to head its property and development group. He became managing director of the resort theme parks division in 2011 before moving across to lead the Midway business in 2015.
He is also an independent non-executive director of north west brewer and retailer Daniel Thwaites, a role he will relinquish before taking up his executive role at Greene King.

Anand has been chief executive of Greene King for 14 years. Last month Anand, who was named business leader of the year at the 2016 Lloyds Bank National Business Awards, was appointed chairman of Casual Dining Group, the operator of almost 300 mid-market restaurant brands including Las Iguanas, Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia. This month he also became chairman of education charity WorldSkills UK.