Overview
Established in 2007, James Horler Ltd is a boutique consultancy specialising in working with small foodservice companies to help them grow.
Our team of experienced hospitality industry experts can provide support in the following areas: Fundraising, Operations, Purchasing, Finance, Commercial and Property.
We work with companies to help them build strong foundations which results in value creation. Value for the company through growth in earnings, value for the equity holders including internal employees and external shareholders.
All of our work is bespoke, which means that we review the business goals with our clients and then ‘tailor make’ our services to their requirements. We love to get involved and understand the culture of our client companies. We are interested in both short term roles and longer term commitment.
Biography
James Horler, who was born in 1965, started his career at 16 as a kitchen porter and waiter for Trusthouse Forte. He progressed to conference and banqueting manager and food and beverage manager before transferring to the group’s roadside business. Here, he quickly rose from unit manager to become Little Chef’s youngest regional director at the age of 24.
Horler moved to Granada to oversee nine motorway service areas with an annual turnover of £210m and 2,900 staff. From 1996, Horler was Managing Director at City Centre Restaurants (now The Restaurant Group) where he expanded its Frankie & Benny’s brand from three to 65 outlets over five years.
In September 2001 Horler bought La Tasca for £28.2m with backing from private equity firm Penta Capital. Early 2005 saw the group float for £54m on the Alternative Investment Market, with Penta retaining a 23% stake.
Horler left the tapas chain in June 2007 after completion of its purchase by Robert Tchenguiz’s investment vehicle R20 for £134m.
James was an Acorn Award winner in 1994 and a Catey Award winner for Group Restaurateurer in 2004.
In 2005, James invested in Leon, the award winning healthy fast food business and is now non executive Chairman of Leon.
James is also Chairman of Cartwheel Recruitment Ltd, a management recruitment company based in Nottingham.
James has also recently invested in a mobile phone translation company called Calluma, which was launched in March 2008.
James has recently led and instructed the takeover of Ego Restaurants Limted. Established in 1997, Ego offers an eclectic mix of dishes from all over the Mediterranean, cooked using predominantly fresh and locally sourced produce. It currently operates five restaurants across the North West, with a sixth scheduled to open in the Midlands in late April.
Contact Me
For more information or to see how James can help you please