Dobbies are one of the largest operators of garden centres in the UK and are celebrating their 160th anniversary in 2025. They are private equity backed and have developed a nationwide estate of 53 destination stores. They cater not only to passionate gardeners, but also appeal to a diverse range of customers, as their destination retail centres include restaurants, coffee shops, Waitrose concessions and a broad range of branded and own brand products.
We partnered with their Chief Executive and Chief People Officer to appoint a Director of Food & Beverage who would be responsible for leading the restaurant and coffee shop operation across their nationwide portfolio of gardens centres. The Exec had identified a huge amount of untapped potential in the F&B side of the business and believe that through developing the food proposition and operating model, it has the potential to significantly grow revenue. This was the number 1 role for F&B in the business, it sits on the Exec and has huge autonomy to transformational change. We conducted an extensive search process, considering candidates across the broad hospitality and food retail sectors who had significant multi-site leadership capability, Board level experience and a deep expertise in food development.
The successful candidate was Richard Herbert who had an impressive track record from a range of hospitality environments including being the Central Ops & Programme Director for Pizza Express and the National Food & Beverage Manager & Franchise Ops Director at Haven Holidays.
We have also supported Dobbies with other senior appointments, including;
- Head of Procurement & Efficiency
- Head of Restaurant Operations
- Head of Food & Beverage Development
