Bistrot Pierre recruits Casual Dining Group MD Nick White as COO

French restaurant group Bistrot Pierre has appointed Casual Dining Group managing director of Bella Italia Nick White as chief operating officer.

White starts his new role from 30 October to oversee Bistrot Pierre's rapid expansion programme backed by private equity firm Livingbridge.

He has been working with the Bistrot Pierre group on a consultancy basis since January after stepping down from the Casual Dining Group where he spent five years overseeing the expansion of Bella Italia.

He said: "I have built a strong relationship with the team at Bistrot Pierre over the past few months. When I was asked to take on a permanent role, I had no hesitation and I am excited about the journey ahead."

Beacham said: "We are both delighted to have someone with Nick's experience join the team. We have been working with Nick recently and his positive impact has been significant and we look forward to him joining the board."

In the past 12 months the business has almost doubled in size having opened restaurants in Birmingham, Altrincham, Swansea, Kidderminster and Middlesbrough. The expansion plan continues with around five new openings a year planned for 2018 and 2019. The privately-owned restaurant group founded by John Whitehead and Robert Beacham opened its first restaurant in Nottingham in 1994 and now has 22 sites across the UK.

The group has already confirmed it will be opening a site in Coventry and the opening date for its Southport venue. The 124-cover Coventry restaurant is due to open in summer 2018 at Cathedral Lanes shopping centre, while the brand's 140-cover Southport restaurant will open on 17 November.

"We've had both Coventry and Southport on our radar for quite some time," said Beacham. "Both Coventry and Southport have seen considerable investment recently and we're delighted to be supporting the towns' growth."

Bistrot Pierre restaurant brand to launch rooms at Plymouth site >>

Bistrot Pierre to open four new sites >>

Bistrot Pierre opens 17th site in Altrincham >>

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