Restaurant group D&D London, to be rebranded as the Evolv Collection in April 2025, has announced the appointment of Martin Williams as its new chief executive officer.
Williams, former head of Rare Restaurants, will assume his role at the end of March, succeeding David Loewi, who stepped down in November 2024.
D&D London was started by Sir Terence Conran.
Martin Williams is a graduate of ALRA drama school and began his career as an actor with roles in the TV shows Casualty, The Vice and Forgive and Forget.
Transitioning to hospitality, he became managing director of Gaucho before founding M (Martin) Restaurant.
He attempted to acquire Gaucho in 2014 after it fell into administration, finally taking it over in 2019 when Gaucho’s holding company acquired M and merged all the brands into Rare Restaurants, as reported by CityAM.
The transition follows the sale of D&D London to Calveton and Breal Capital for £60m ($76m) in 2023.
D&D operates 20 restaurants across London, Birmingham, Manchester, New York and Paris.
Williams will oversee brands such as Coq d’Argent, Bluebird, German Gymnasium, Quaglino’s and the Michelin-starred Angler.
Besides establishing a new brand identity, Evolv Collection will introduce the Evolv Loyalty Club, replacing Club D&D, and a brand-new website, as reported by The Caterer.
D&D London board director Simon Wilkinson stated: “We are pleased to announce that Martin Williams has been appointed as our new chief executive officer. We have closely monitored his career over an extended period and are confident that he will be an asset to our organisation.
“He joins us at a very exciting time for the business. After a focussed period of stabilisation and transformation, we are very much looking forward to Martin leading us through the next stage of both organic and acquisitive growth. On the back of a record [2024] festive trading period, a strong January and the company’s first major refurbishment for many years, we are well-positioned for Martin to evolve and grow the business further.”
