Loungers, the rapid-growth Bristol-based all-day café/bar group, has appointed one of the Bristol area’s most experienced finance directors as its new CFO.
Stephen Marshall, pictured, will join the group, which opened its 250th outlet in January, following a career that has included senior roles at supermarket chain Somerfield, household appliances firm Dyson and Nisbets, Europe’s largest supplier of catering equipment. 
He was most recently CFO of Pure Electric, the Bristol-headquartered e-scooter and e-bike specialist.
Loungers’ current CFO Gregor Grant will step down from the board on 23 April but will remain with the company to provide support and to assist with the efficient handover of responsibilities to Stephen until 31 July.
When Gregor joined the group in 2018 it had 128 sites. It expects to open a record 34 new venues in its current financial year and has a target of 600-plus.
The group opened its first venue on North Street in Bedminster nearly 22 years ago and its Lounges chain is based on roughly the same concept – all-day opening with a strong food offering and quirky décor.
This template has worked particularly well on suburban high streets and smaller town centres where rents tend to be cheaper and competition is mainly from coffee shops or traditional pubs.
The group also has 36 Cosy Clubs, which tend to be based in larger, city and town-centre buildings, and three Brightside roadside restaurants, all in the South West.
Loungers chairman Alex Reilley said Stephen Marshall had extensive experience as a CFO and in all aspects of finance, IT, procurement and project management.
“We are delighted to appoint Stephen to the Loungers team and look forward to benefiting from his consumer sector and financial expertise,” he added.
“Loungers continues to go from strength to strength and Stephen’s appointment will help us build on our market-leading position as we carry out our ambitious site roll-out plan.”
Stephen was CFO at Pure Electrice Between July 2021 and last November. Prior to that he was in a similar role at Nisbets.
Between 2013 to 2018 he held a number of senior roles at Malmesbury-headquartered Dyson, including UK finance director and interim CFO.
Having qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young (now EY) in 1995, he went on to spend nearly 12 years at Bristol-headquartered supermarket group Somerfield.
During his time at the £3bn turnover, FTSE 250-listed business he project-managed a major investment programme to convert 350 Kwik Save stores following the chain’s acquisition by Somerfield, which is now owned by the Co-operative Group.
He said he was “hugely excited” to be joining FTSE-listed Loungers at what he described as an “exciting point in its extraordinary story”.
“It is a business with a clear strategy, enormous growth potential and an exceptionally strong team. I am looking forward to playing a part in its ongoing success,” he added.
