The Restaurant Group, the company behind some of the UK’s most popular restaurants and pubs including Garfunkel’s, Chiquito and Joe’s Kitchen, has appointed MHP Communications to be its retained financial PR adviser, building on the agency’s strong stable of consumer clients.

A significant player in the casual dining market, the Restaurant Group operates over 500 restaurants and pubs in the UK, many of them on leisure parks next to cinemas.

The appointment strengthens MHP’s roster of consumer clients, which includes Young’s, Dunelm, Mothercare and JD Sports, and is the latest win for the agency. Earlier this month Nationwide Building Society appointed MHP to a wide-ranging corporate and public affairs brief following a competitive pitch.

The win also continues the momentum of the capital markets team under the leadership of Oliver Hughes, the head of capital markets, and Andrew Jaques, as executive chairman of capital markets.

In July, the team announced that it had completed a record half of IPO mandates in 2018, advising on 10% of all the new listing on the London Stock Exchange. Among the new listings it advised on were Plus500, the online trading contract-for-difference platform, Urban Exposure, the residential development finance provider, the UK law firm Knights, and Cake Box, the largest franchise retailer of fresh cream cakes in the UK.

Hughes says, “The eating-out landscape has evolved significantly in recent years driven by everything from changes in consumer behaviour to the impact of digital technology. We are delighted to have been chosen to advise one of the UK’s leading players in this market, the Restaurant Group, at an important time for the business as it executes its turnaround strategy.”