The CEO of the restaurant group Spur, Pierre van Tonder, will retire at the end of December, the company said on Monday.
The 61-year-old Van Tonder has been the managing director / CEO since 1996 after joining the company in 1982 as a junior restaurant manager.
Mike Bosman, chairman of the Spur Corporation, said the business has shown strong growth over the past 24 years under Van Tonder’s leadership and the group has more than 640 restaurants in South Africa and worldwide and a presence in 20 countries.
“Pierre has played a leading role in expanding the portfolio by developing brands such as Panarottis and acquiring smaller brands such as RocoMamas, The Hussar Grill and John Dory’s, which are today some of South Africa’s best-known restaurant brands,” Bosman added. .
Spur said its remuneration and nomination committee of the council has started a selection process to identify a new CEO and internal and external candidates will be considered.
Like many other businesses in South Africa, Spur was affected by the period of isolation imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said the restriction on trading had a major impact on its operations and performance. Sales decreased dramatically in March and decreased by 46.7% compared to the same period in 2019.
The group relies primarily on revenue from its franchise restaurants.
