Guzman y Gomez eyes IPO with two CEOs driving it

afr.com:

Fast food chain Guzman y Gomez will have two chief executives running the company as it prepares for an initial public offering which founder Steven Marks says could happen late next year.

Hilton Brett, who has been on the GYG board for the past five years, has been anointed as co-chief executive of the group and will sit alongside Mr Marks, the other co-chief executive. Mr Marks founded the company with its first outlet in the Sydney suburb of Newtown in 2005 and has been chief executive since 2006.

Co-chief executives of Guzman y Gomez Steven Marks (left) and Hilton Brett. The new structure is in readiness for a potential IPO. Brent Lewin

Mr Marks said the structural changes were a further step towards a potential IPO. “It’s definitely on the cards. It could be late in 2024 or early in 2025,” Mr Marks said. “We are certainly IPO ready.”

Mr Brett has been on the board for the past five years as a representative of TDM Growth Partners, which owns 40 per cent of GYG and is the largest shareholder. He has been acting chief financial officer for the past few months. Until 2018, he was a co-chief executive of ASX-listed shoe retailer Accent Group, which includes The Athlete’s Foot, Hype DC and Stylerunner chains.

Mr Brett said that in a softer economy, Guzman y Gomez would step up its expansion. “This is an opportunity to really double down,” he said.

“When other businesses are backing off, we’ll be looking to take advantage of opportunities.”

GYG has 202 locations in Australia, Japan, Singapore, and has started making early inroads into the United States.

Drive-through outlets are top of the agenda. It is using Chicago as the test-bed for US expansion, with three outlets already and a fourth about to open. Mr Brett said