Mark Jones joins Las Iguanas board

Mark Jones, the chairman of Premium Bars and Restaurants, formerly Ultimate Leisure, has become non-executive director at Latin American restaurant and bar operator Las Iguanas.

The operator, which was subject to a management buy-out in August, is planning to open 20 sites over the next three years.

Private equity company Bowmark Capital provided £10.5m as part of the deal with the management and Royal Bank of Scotland providing the remainder.

"With the support of Bowmark Capital, the vision of Las Iguanas is to more than double in size and I look forward to helping the company achieve this," Jones said.

"What attracts me to Las Iguanas is the vibrancy of the brand and how different it is from its competitors. These are the key qualities that will give us the opportunity to rapidly expand over the coming years."

Las Iguanas managing director Eren Ali said Jones' expertise in the sector would help them achieve their growth targets.

Before joining Ultimate Leisure in 2005 Jones was chief executive at Yates Group.

At Yates he led in 2004 a management buyout with backing from GI Partners before selling the business to Laurel Pub Company in 2005.

He has also been chief executive and operations director at Pizza Hut UK and spent the two years as managing director of Whitbread High Street Brands.

Meanwhile Premium Bars and Restaurants have disposed of three non-core sites, one freehold and two leasehold, in the centre of Newcastle-upon-Tyne for a total of £1.4m.

It said it would use the money to reduce net debt.

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By Christopher Walton