FDBusiness.com

UK confectionery retailer Thorntons has appointed Jonathan Hart as group chief executive with effect from January 4th 2011. Jonathan Hart’s retail and consumer goods experience spans more than 25 years. For the past five years he has been managing director of UK coffee chain Caffe Nero, where, during his tenure, the business has more than doubled in size to over 400 stores with EBITDA of £28.7m and revenue of £153.6m (year to May 2010). In addition to driving top-line growth and physical expansion, he streamlined retail merchandising, built the Caffe Nero brand equity and improved company profitability.