Cheyne Capital, the London-based lender that took over the Press Up group last year, has rebranded the Irish hospitality giant and appointed new executives to lead the stable of restaurants and venues.
The group, which operates well-known restaurants and chains including Elephant and Castle and Wowburger, is now called Eclective Hospitality Group, employing some 850 people across 24 venues.
Tristan Jacob, chief commercial officer at the group, said the name, “although not a word in the dictionary”, was “chosen carefully” to reflect the diversity of its venues.
“This is an exciting development, and it is more than just a name change,” said Dave Mongan, chief operations officer at Eclective.
“It underlines all our teams’ commitment to build on what has been achieved to date, creating exciting and vibrant social experiences across the city. As we develop the business over the coming years, we will strive to elevate the customer experience.”
Ben Barclay, who served as chief executive of Press Up, is also understood to have left the business.
The group, which includes the Angelina’s, Doolally and Mama Yo restaurants in Dublin as well bars like Bison and the Workman’s Club, changed hands last year in a debt-for-equity swap with Cheyne taking a majority stake.
A number of businesses in the group had been put into receivership after Press Up ran into difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Announced in September, the agreement saw Press Up co-founders Paddy McKillen Jnr and Matt Ryan step down from leadership roles with the group, although Mr McKillen Jnr reportedly retained a minority stake.
Speaking at the time Mr McKillen Jnr said: “Cheyne have been a very supportive partner for a number of years and when we first began discussing with them about taking an equity position in the business towards the end of last year, it became clear straight away that this was the best path forward.”
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