White Rabbit Projects appoints new CFO amid growth plans

Paul Deeming has been appointed group chief financial officer of hospitality incubator White Rabbit Projects (WRP) as the business enters a “pivotal time” for expansion.

His appointment follows WRP’s multi-million pound investment from McWin, the backer of bakery chain Gail’s and Italian chain Vapiano, which was announced last November.

WRP revealed it is “currently focused on growing its existing portfolio” as well as “developing and investing in new concepts”, including Eve Kensington in partnership with Ember Locke, which has been scheduled to open this month.

Meanwhile, the group revealed additional investment will support international expansion.

Deeming joins WRP from André Balazs Properties, an international group of hotels and properties across Europe and the US, where he was CFO for six years.

He has also worked as interim CFO of Hakkasan Group and as CFO at BGF backed catering company Peyton & Byrne Group.

Prior to that, he was co-founder and CFO of Ignite, the company behind restaurant group Bumpkin.

White Rabbit was founded in 2016 by former Soho House commercial director Chris Miller and supports UK brands including Kricket, Lina Stores and Island Poke.

It also develops and runs bespoke hospitality concepts for hotels and landlords and now employs over 900 staff across 54 global sites.

Chris Miller, founder and chief executive of White Rabbits Project, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Paul to White Rabbit Projects at this pivotal time in our growth journey. With his more than two decades’ worth of industry knowledge Paul will materially enhance our support platform incubating hospitality brands, as we continue developing the portfolio both nationally and internationally.”

Paul Deeming added: “Having admired the tremendous success of Chris and White Rabbit Projects since its inception, I’m excited to be joining the team. WRP has been disrupting the hospitality market for years through unique hospitality concepts, by supporting, incubating, and scaling these high-quality brands. I am thrilled to be able to bring my experience to this fantastic business and helping to develop over the coming years.”