Operators of multi-site hospitality companies can book up to three free places, or operators who are Premium subscribers can claim up to four free places by emailing: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com
Speaker Schedule
9.00am-10.00am: Registration and coffee
10.00am-10.20am: Graeme Smith, managing director at AlixPartners, talks about the current M&A landscape and investment/consolidation opportunities, who will be the winners and losers over the next 12 months and beyond; and which parts of the market will generate the most interest.
10.20am-10.40am: Airship and Toggle founder and chief executive Dan Brookman discusses the evolution of the customer journey and how to easily identify and create the ones that can shift the dial on your CRM return on investment.
10.40am-11.00am: Maria Vanifatova, founder of Meaningful Vision, looks at where the growth is in the UK market, where the opportunities are looking ahead, and what pricing strategies and menu innovations are reshaping the industry amid evolving consumer preferences and economic pressures.
Ones to watch:
11.00am-11.20am: Nicc Wright, founder of Barbs, the fast-casual Bajan restaurant concept, talks about launching his first standalone site, why his business isn’t just about restaurants but “a movement to showcase what Barbados has to offer” and aspiring to be next Nando’s.
11.20am-11.40am: Phil Eeles, the Honest Burgers co-founder, discusses the growth plans for Breadstall, the London biga-style pizza business that is looking to make its mark in a highly competitive category.
11.40am-12.00pm: Guy Ivesha, founder and chief executive of Maslow’s, discusses the creation and evolution of his new take on a modern member’s club, with cafes and workspaces that support productivity and well-being.
12.00pm-1.00pm: Lunch
1.00pm-1.30pm: Pano Christou, chief executive of Pret A Manger, talks to Propel’s Mark Wingett about how the business has become a global brand with £1 in every £4 spent outside the UK, and discusses how it has consistently pushed the sector forward – from pioneering food redistribution at scale, to reimagining loyalty through subscription models, to redefining what premium convenience looks like in a post‑pandemic world.
1.30pm-2.00pm: Christobell Giles, managing director of Vagabond Wines, discusses the resurgence of the business under the ownership of Majestic, how it has redefined what a wine bar can be – including its pioneering self‑pour technology, developing the UK’s largest urban winery, and how the business is looking to double the size of its estate in the next three years.
2.00pm-2.30pm: Mat Finch, managing director of Cornish Bakery, talks about how the business has become one of the UK’s most compelling retail success stories – a brand that proves craft, culture, and commercial performance don’t need to live in separate rooms, and how it has evolved from a regional favourite into a nationally admired operator.
2.30pm-3.00pm: Coffee Break
3.00pm-3.25pm: Russell Quelch, chief executive of Neos Hospitality, discusses redefining what modern multi‑venue hospitality can look like through bold concepts, sharp execution, and a deep understanding of how people want to socialise today, and the company’s decision to make its debut in central London, with a new multi-million-pound venue.
3.25pm-3.50pm: Markus Thesleff, founder and chief executive of the Thesleff Group, talks about growing the premium dining business – which operates Los Mochis, Sale e Pepe and Juno Omakase – into a global player, including launching in the US, and the challenge of opening and operating several different high-end concepts in central London.
3.50pm-4.20pm: Over the past 45 years, Jeremy King has changed the way London eats, creating some of the city’s most iconic dining rooms and restoring others to their former glory. King, who has been described as the greatest living London restaurateur, talks to Mark Wingett about how his return to the sector has gone, what has been different this time, and where he sees the restaurant market in the capital going.
4.20pm-4.50pm: John Vincent, co-founder and chief executive of Leon, talks about his return to the healthy-eating, fast food brand, what he found when he returned, the changes he has since made, the results, what comes next, and his hopes and fears for the wider hospitality sector.
From 5.00pm: Airship is hosting delegates for a free drink at conference close at Brother Marcus, 81 Buckingham Palace Rd, SW1W 0AJ
Parallel Sessions
The event will also see the launch of Parallel Sessions of content. Attendees can duck in and out of the main conference to attend any of these sessions below.
10.30am-11.00am: Getting the best deal from government: With the sector facing uniquely challenging headwinds, UK Hospitality chief executive Allen Simpson talks to Fleet Street founder and chief executive Mark Stretton about the delicate process of lobbying government for a better deal, current priorities and how individual multi-site operators can help in putting the sector’s best food forward. There will be a chance to ask questions about the current UK Hospitality agenda with government.
11.00am-11.30am: The margin of decency: Elton Mouna, founder of The Good Apple Effect, is joined by Bharti Radix, founder of BloomsYard, and James Nye, managing director of Anglian Country Inns, for this interactive session. Together, they will make a strong commercial case to operators, leaders, owners, financial directors and sceptics for something your nan probably told you at age seven – be decent. In hospitality, decent leadership is neither soft nor sentimental. It is a competitive edge. Hear how the Ebitda presented in finance meetings is directly influenced by another Ebitda: Earnings By Investing in Trust, Dignity and Accountability.
11.30am-12.00pm: HGEM – from dashboards to dialogue: How AI is bridging the insight gap: Hospitality businesses are rich in guest data, but often poor in shared, usable insight. Reports are plentiful – clarity is not. This session, delivered by HGEM implementation manager Maisie Harris explores how artificial intelligence is helping operators close the “insight gap” by turning complex data into plain-language answers. From surfacing recurring guest issues to highlighting strengths, risks and clear next steps, the session will look at what changes when operators can speak to their data. This is a practical discussion on how conversational insight is shifting guest experience management from retrospective reporting to confident, real-time decision-making.
1.00pm-1.30pm: Hospitality Tech360 – hospitality innovation and the future of industry collaboration: Technology has the potential to help operators improve efficiency, enhance guest experience, and unlock new sources of growth, yet the sector still faces barriers around adoption, integration, and identifying solutions that genuinely deliver value. The Hospitality Sector Council’s (HSC) innovation working group helps address this. Hospitality Tech360 (HT360) is partnering with the HSC to shine a spotlight on industry innovation and the initiatives helping the sector move forward. In this fireside chat, Bill’s managing director Tom James joins L Marks chief executive Daniel Saunders to explore how collaboration between operators, innovators and industry bodies can accelerate meaningful change. Bill’s is a participant in the HSC’s Innovation Lab, run by L Marks, where operators trial new solutions in live environments. This session offers a preview of the conversations and industry collaboration that will continue at HT360.
1.30pm-2.00pm: Bums on Seats – stop selling sport, start selling status: Join Bums on Seats chief executive and founder Amber Staynings, and director of client training, Dee Sturgess for an impactful session where they’ll dive deep into transforming your approach to live sports and maximising revenue opportunities in 2026. In this session, they will challenge the traditional mindset that simply showing the game with food and beverage is enough. They’ll explore the crucial elements that define a successful sports revenue system, including: tapping into the diverse groups that make up today’s sports fans, effective strategies for partnerships and direct outreach, product and pricing strategies, and how to capture valuable customer data and segment it for maximum impact.
2.00pm-2.30pm: Guestwise – AI has huge potential but very technical to implement at scale: At Guestwise, we’ve seen first-hand what happens when you put artificial intelligence (AI) into a live hospitality environment, handling live conversations with guests on web and email – and it’s not all good. In this session, Guestwise chief executive Carey Benn explores where AI genuinely drives leverage, where it still requires human guardrails, where AI is rubbish compared with a human and should be deliberately not used, and how AI can fit in the technology stack to communicate with guests, and accelerate sales. Benn will show how AI is an amplifier, not a replacement for real people doing real hospitality, or for current tools teams are using in the day-to-day operation.
2.30pm-3.00pm: Sideways – risk assessments – be the first to see them done differently: The hospitality industry has hundreds of risk assessments, yet almost nobody reads them. Sideways, in partnership with its customers like Blacklock, has started turning hospitality risk assessments into short, practical 30-40 second videos filmed in real restaurants with their teams. It is launching its first batch, and you will be the first to see them during this session. The videos come free with Sideways or can be used as part of a subscription within existing training platforms. Join Sideways founder John Mason to see how it is building a new library of practical, essential safety content for hospitality teams. You will also have the chance to enter a competition to win a bungy jump in Queenstown, New Zealand.
Operators of multi-site hospitality companies can book up to three free places, or operators who are Premium subscribers can claim up to four free places, by emailing: kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com
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