Dalata adds Wetherspoons director to its board
DALATA, the Irish hotel group, has appointed Elizabeth McMeikan to its board as an independent, non-executive director.
Ms McMeikan is currently a senior independent director at UK pub giant JD Wetherspoon.
Dalata, whose brands include the Clayton and Maldron hotels, had 8,790 owned and leased hotel rooms at the end of June, with 4,487 in Dublin, 1,867 in regional Ireland and 2,445 in the UK.
In addition, the Pat McCann headed group is currently developing nine new hotels, with approximately 2,400 bedrooms, which will open over the next three years.
Having spent her earlier career at Colgate-Palmolive, Ms McMeikan then took up a role with Tesco, where she established Tesco Express in 1994.
In 1997, Ms McMeikan was appointed Tesco stores board director for change management and human resources at the grocery giant.
Today, she is also a senior independent director at UK-based student accommodation provider Unite Group. She also chairs the board’s remuneration committee. In addition, she is a non-executive director at food company Fresca Group.
John Hennessy, chairman of Dalata, said the breadth of Ms McMeikan’s experience means she will be “a valuable addition to the board, and we look forward to her contribution”.
“As we continue to grow our business across the UK, Elizabeth’s knowledge and expertise in that market will be of great benefit,” he added.
In the first half of this year, revenue at Dalata rose 12.2pc to €201.9m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 43.9pc higher, at €73.4m.
Meanwhile, Wetherspoons has yet to decide whether it will introduce a fake-meat burger to its menus in Ireland.
The group, which has seven establishments across the country, has added the plant-based burgers to all its 880 restaurants in the UK, following a successful trial at 40 of its premises.
While the bulk of Wetherspoons’ venues are in Dublin, it also has one pub in Carlow and one in Cork.
The pub chain, which was founded by Brexit supporter Tim Martin, also has sites in Waterford and Galway, however work is yet to commence at these locations.