Admiral Taverns chairman leaves after four years
Jonathan Paveley has stepped down as executive chairman of Admiral Taverns after four years at the head of the business.
The pub group announced that John Sands would become non-executive chairman, while Kevin Georgel (pictured), previously managing director, becomes chief executive officer.
Paveley oversaw the turnaround of Admiral, which culminated in the sale of the business to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management at the end of 2012.
He chose to stay on for a year after the sale to ensure the handover was successfully completed.
Paveley said: "I leave Admiral in splendid health, with an excellent management team, strong licensee relationships and great financial backers. I am proud of what has been achieved in four busy years, and wish the business well for the future."
Georgel, who has been managing director since 2010, previously spent several years at Punch Taverns, culminating in serving as operations director, and before that he was at Molson Coors. He started his career in the industry at Bass PLC in 1997.
He remarked: "It has been a pleasure working closely with Jonathan over the past four years. He has set the bar high, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue building on our achievements. Thanks to Jonathan's leadership, Admiral has earned a tremendous reputation for operational excellence, one that we intend to develop further."
John Sands, has previously acted as a non-executive director of Admiral Taverns since September 2013. In 1996, he led the management buy-out from Brent Walker of Pubmaster, which he built into one of the UK's biggest pub companies. As executive chairman, he subsequently sold Pubmaster to Punch Taverns for £1.3b. He has held a number of other leading positions in the industry and is currently chairman of north-east based Wear Inns.
Sands said: "We are very grateful to Jonathan for the significant contribution he has made to Admiral Taverns and wish him well for the future.
What to consider before taking on a pub - Kevin Georgel's tips >>
