Wahaca has appointed Tom Mercer as its new head of people, following the announcement that the Mexican-inspired restaurant group has been acquired by private equity firm Risk Capital.
Mercer previously held the role of head of people at fast-casual Italian food and pasta chain Coco di Mama from 2018 to 2020. He then went on to join crazy golf and hospitality brand Swingers as UK people director, a role he held for six years until this April.
Prior to his time at Coco di Mama, Mercer spent more than 12 years in various people and development roles at former UK sandwich and café chain Eat, which previously closed all its retail sites in 2020.
Announcing his appointment at Wahaca on LiinkedIn, Mercer said: “Genuinely thrilled to be joining a company like Wahaca that so closely matches what I wanted from my next role, and at an exciting time for us too.
“I’ve been wonderfully looked after having spent time in a number of our restaurants with the teams both BoH and FoH, the ops team, head office and of course the people team. I can’t wait to get stuck in properly over the coming months.”
His appointment comes after it was announced last month that Wahaca has been acquired by Risk Capital.
Earlier this year, Wahaca, which operates 14 restaurants across the UK, said it was seeking a new strategic partner to boost its growth plans. The brand appointed advisory firm BDO to assist with the process, with Risk Capital having been identified as that partner.
Risk Capital, which has a portfolio that includes Gail’s Bakery, was founded in 2001 by entrepreneur and restaurateur Luke Johnson, who has previously held several high-profile roles in the hospitality sector including as chairman of Pizza Express and executive chairman of Patisserie Valerie.
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