The ALMR has appointed one of leisure and hospitality’s best-known leaders to be its president. Bob Ivell, chairman of Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), will join the senior team of the trade association, marking another significant milestone in the on-going development of the ALMR, which has grown 30% each year for the past three years.
Steve Richards, chairman of the ALMR, said: “I am delighted Bob Ivell has joined the ALMR board as our president. He is one of the sector’s most respected leaders, and the depth of his experience makes him a great ambassador for our industry. His commitment reflects the importance of the ALMR, and the role it plays in taking business-critical messages to government.”
In addition to his role at M&B, Ivell is chairman of Carpetright and a non-executive director at Britvic and Charles Wells. In his career, he has held various senior roles, including serving as the long-term executive chairman at Scottish & Newcastle Retail and chairman at David Lloyd Leisure. He has also sat on the boards of a number of other public companies, including The Restaurant Group and Aga Rangemaster Group.
Commenting, he said: “The ALMR has emerged as a uniting voice for our industry, representing businesses big and small. It successfully spans the spectrum of hospitality with over 200 pub, restaurant, bar and nightclub companies as members, and provides an essential voice to government, to MPs and to political influencers. The membership is strong and in our CEO, Kate Nicholls, we have expert leadership. I’m looking forward to helping the association promote our industry’s growth agenda.”
The latest development follows another year of growth for the ALMR. The association now represents more than 200 companies across pubs, restaurants, bars and clubs, with member companies together operating more than 22,000 outlets and employing 650,000 people. As a business industry, the hospitality sector was responsible for 8% of all new jobs created in the UK economy in 2015, two-thirds of which were filled by individuals aged 18-24.