CEO of Gourmet Burger Kitchen to step down

Alasdair Murdoch has announced that he will leave the burger chain by the end of the year.

During his seven year tenure, Alasdair has grown GBK to a £100m-turnover business now with 104 restaurants. He attributes this success to leading the business based on three major principles: the quality of food served, motivated staff, and restaurants that match the quality of GBK’s burgers.

Alasdair Murdoch said, “I am very proud to have been a small part of the story that made GBK great. It is the journey that is important and I feel that the time is right now for someone else to lead GBK through its next stage in its life cycle.”

The announcement comes a year after Famous Brands purchased the chain in October 2016.

Famous Brands' CEO Darren Hele said, “Alasdair has been an inspirational leader for GBK and has built the business to a significant size. On behalf of everyone at GBK I want to thank him for his outstanding leadership, boundless energy and achievement in building a successful business. We wish him well with his future pursuits.”

At the same time, chief operating officer Keith Bird is leaving on amicable terms after seven strong years, as the business enters a new stage of growth under the ownership of Famous Brands. Karen Stone, operations director at GBK is also leaving the business after 18 months for personal reasons.

Steve Gill, Human Resources Director at Gourmet Burger Kitchen said, “Both Keith and Karen have done fantastic work during their time at GBK and we wish them the best with their future endeavours. The team will be working hard together through the end of the year and an announcement on their successors will be made in the months to come.”