Mark McQuater to leave Barracuda Pub Company

McQuater's departure from the 198-strong operator of the Smith & Jones and Varsity brands is not thought to be connected to the refinancing process the company is currently undergoing which it is thought to be making positive progress on.

McQuater oversaw the Charterhouse-backed £262m management buyout of the group in 2006.

Over last few years he has steered it successfully through a difficult phase, including a restructure in 2009 and the rebranding of a majority of the estate to the Smith & Jones brand.

He will stay on with the company to handover to Moxham.

Moxham left M&B in November last year, after a successful 25-year career with the company.

He was seen as a key figure in the growth of the UK’s largest managed pub restaurant business and in keeping M&B moving forward operationally as it weathered takeover approaches and numerous boardroom changes and conflicts over the last few years.

Before overseeing its Value division, he was acting managing director of its Locals, Metropolitan and High Street operations.

He also held divisional director roles for its Locals and City Centre as well as a number of senior operational roles.

It is hoped that the positive progress the group is making with its refinancing, will eventually put it in a position to further expand.

The pub group’s syndicate of backers, which includes a number of banks and investment funds, is looking into a restructure and the possibility of a writedown of its c£160m debt.

It is understood that any restructuring process is complicated by the number of investors the group has and the fact that its debt is spread across its opco (c£100m) and propco (c£60m) arms.