Bewley's appoints managing director

Bewley's, the hotel and restaurant group, has become a "confused proposition", which must remodel itself as a forward-looking and dynamic brand, the company's newly appointed managing director, Mr David Bunworth, said yesterday.

A former senior executive with Aer Lingus, Guinness and the Esat telecoms group, Mr Bunworth said the Bewley's brand had lost some focus and required "reinvention". It was imperative that the company refine its message, he said. "We need to give the consumer more clarity going forward." Bewley's is part of the Campbell Bewley Group and operates 23 Bewley's cafes in the Republic and Britain. The group has an annual turnover of €156 million and employs 4,500 staff.

Earlier this year the firm unveiled a five-year development plan involving the opening of up to 12 new cafes, partly funded by the sale of its interest in its Mary Street premises in Dublin.

Mr Bunworth was formerly a sales and marketing director with Aer Lingus and a group marketing director with Esat. He joins Bewley's from the Gresham Hotel group, where he held the post of business development director.