Honest Burgers has announced the appointment of Kevin Styles as its new chief executive officer. Kevin joins the team with a wealth of leadership experience in retail, leisure, and entertainment, with a focus on driving commercial growth.
Before joining Honest Burgers, Styles served as CEO of the Jamie Oliver Group, where he successfully spearheaded the development of the new restaurant proposition and cooking school. His career also includes leadership roles at Vue International, American Golf, Best Buy Europe and Kingfisher.
Styles’s appointment marks an exciting chapter for Honest Burgers as it continues to grow and innovate. Known for its commitment to exceptional quality at Honest prices, as well as a pioneering approach to sustainability, Honest Burgers operates 39 locations across the UK, each delivering its signature combination of Great British burgers and rosemary salted chips.
After an impressive first half of 2024, Honest Burgers sustained its momentum in the second half, and is forecast to finish the year exceeding £60m, with 10% growth in like for like sales, and EBITDA forecasted to grow by 50% year on year. The business achieved three consecutive weekly sales records leading up to Christmas and a new record for covers volume. Additionally, half of Honest Burgers’ locations reported new weekly sales records in December.
Following the success of its smash burger, the brand launched its innovative grab-and-go concept Honest Smash + Grab, in December. This new format combines Honest Burgers’ signature quality with the convenience of a fast-paced, on-the-go experience. Staying true to the brand’s commitment to great taste and great value, Smash + Grab represents a key milestone in Honest Burgers’ ambitious goal to quadruple its size by 2030.
Styles joins the business after Thomas Kelly stepped up to Chair in 2024, who said “We’re really excited to welcome Kevin to the Honest family. His extensive experience and forward-thinking vision make him the perfect leader to guide us into our next phase and we look forward to seeing the impact he will have on our brand.”
Styles said: ‘This brand has a unique opportunity to really disrupt a sector that is evolving quickly. The quality of the offer, highly competitive value, a very strong and distinctive brand all combined with amazing restaurant teams provide an incredible platform for sustainable growth.’
