Anne Chow steps down from Banana Tree after 28 years
One of the UK's largest managed restaurant operators has appointed a new managing director (MD) to oversee its Pan-Asian brand Banana Tree, as Anne Chow prepares to step down from the position after 28 years with the business.
Chow will officially step down from the role at the end of January, with Kate Wilton set to take over as group MD. Wilton brings a wealth of experience to the position, most recently leading the Slug & Lettuce brand at Stonegate Group, and before that holding senior operations roles at Spirit Pub Company and Whitbread.
The Big Table Group (BTG), owner and operator of concepts including Las Iguanas and Bella Italia, acquired the Banana Tree estate in September 2022.
Chow has been involved with the development of Banana Tree since the start, with founder William Chow opening the first site in Maida Vale. Anne and William successfully grew the brand to nine sites in and around London, before BTG took over the business. Since then, Anne has led the brand's growth to 18 sites in just over a year, with two further launches planned in Q1 2024. She will stay on in an advisory capacity to BTG's executive team on continued rollout plans for Banana Tree.
Alan Morgan, CEO of BTG, comments: "I'd like to thank Anne for an incredible journey with us. Whilst I am very sad to lose her from our executive team, I understand entirely that she has decided to take some time to herself after 28 years with Banana Tree. Her work overseeing the growth of the business in the last year is an amazing achievement, especially as it was done while integrating the business into the group at the same time. I genuinely don't believe this could have been achieved without Anne's leadership, passion and determination to continue the Banana Tree success story."
Anne adds: "Working with the BTG and giving Banana Tree such a fantastic chance to grow to its full potential has been an immense pleasure and privilege and has been a great learning opportunity for me.
"I can't thank everyone at BTG enough for their support and their commitment to make Banana Tree a major national brand while keeping our core values and obsession with great Pan-Asian food, warm service and happy teams."
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