Luke Johnson (businessman)

Luke Johnson
Born	(1962-02-02) 2 February 1962
Nationality	British
Other names	Cool Hand Luke[1]
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Net worth	£150 million (2013)
Children	3
Parents	Paul Johnson and Marigold Hunt
Relatives	Daniel Johnson (brother)
Website
http://www.lukejohnson.org/

Luke Oliver Johnson (born 2 February 1962), is a British serial entrepreneur, best known for his involvement with Pizza Express. He is a former chairman of the Royal Society of Arts and Channel 4. He writes regular columns for the Financial Times newspaper and Management Today magazine. Johnson calls himself a "projector", in line with the 17th century term for a man involved in many different businesses.^[2] He is the part owner and chairman of Patisserie Valerie, Gail's Artisan Bakery and Feng Sushi among other businesses.^[3] He is a former owner The Ivy, Le Caprice and J Sheeky restaurants and a former part-owner of Giraffe Restaurants.

Early years

The son of historian Paul Johnson and brother of Daniel Johnson, he spent his early years in Iver, Buckinghamshire, and was educated at the state-owned Langley Grammar School in Langley, Berkshire, and at Magdalen College, Oxford.

Whilst at university Johnson together with fellow student Hugh Osmond (later founder of Punch Taverns) interviewed Richard Branson on his houseboat in London for the student newspaper. This gave the pair the inspiration to go into business and they began running the Era nightclub in Oxford. By the time of graduation he and Osmond were running businesses from software to clubs.

He initially studied medicine but, like Hugh Osmond, only completed the first part of the course, graduating from Oxford University with a BA in Physiological Sciences in 1983. He started his career as a media analyst at stockbroker Grieveson Grant (subsequently Kleinwort Benson Securities).

Business career

Restaurants and leisure

In 1993 Johnson and Osmond took control of Pizza Express, with Johnson becoming chairman. They expanded the business from 12 owned restaurants to over 250, and the share price from 40p to over 900p.^[4] After selling the business in 1999 Johnson started Signature Restaurants, a ‘crown jewels’ collection of London restaurants which included The Ivy and Le Caprice, as well as the Belgo chain. He also started Strada restaurants from scratch, taking the chain to 30 units. He sold both businesses in 2005; the total proceeds from these two disposals were in excess of £90 million.^[4]

As a result of these activities Johnson is best known for his investments in restaurants, though he has wide portfolio of investments in other industries. Peter Harden (of the celebrated Harden restaurant guides) stated, when commenting on the history of London restaurants, “there are very few people who have had more impact than Luke Johnson”.^[5]

Whilst chairman of the Belgo group Johnson took part in the BBC programme "Back to the Floor", a programme in which top executives spent a week at the "coal face" of their business. Some reviewers of the programme were uncomplimentary about Johnson.

From 1993 to date, Johnson has been involved as director and/or owner of various companies in retailing, pubs and bars, including Whittard of Chelsea, My Kinda Town and the private companies Giraffe,^[6] Patisserie Valerie,^[7] Druckers^[8] and Baker & Spice.^[9] In December 2009, Johnson's investment partnership Risk Capital Partners Ltd acquired the Tootsie's restaurant chain,^[10] for which it was awarded the "Deal of the Year" prize at the 2010 Retailer's Retailer Awards ceremony. Johnson also purchased in 2010 a stake in artisan bakery Flour Power City, which supplies restaurants, hotels, and caterers. Flour Power City also operates stalls in locations such as Borough Market in London.

September 2010 saw Johnson purchase Feng Sushi,^[11] a London-based chain of Japanese restaurants specialising in home delivery. In the same month he also purchased a majority stake in casual-dining firm Ego Group,^[12] which was merged in April 2011 with pizza business Rocket Restaurants to form 3Sixty Restaurants,^[13] with Johnson as chairman.

In May 2011, Risk Capital Partners assumed a shareholding in Bread Ltd,^[14] a leading artisan baker. The group includes retail bakery and cafe Gail’s, which has thirteen bakeries in London and sells its products through Waitrose, Harvey Nichols and Ocado. In June 2013 he became chairman and 50% owner of Grand Union, a London bar chain.^[15] In the same month he became a non-executive director of contract caterers Harbour & Jones, as well as Harbour & Jones Events, a London based event caterer and venue hire service.^[16]

Other business ventures

Since 2000 Johnson has run Risk Capital Partners Ltd, focusing on private equity deals. Risk Capital Partner's portfolio includes the directory publisher Superbrands, fashion chain East,^[17] car park technology provider APT controls^[18] and GRA, the UK's largest greyhound track owner.^[19]

In May 2010 Johnson became a strategic investor in Beer & Partners,^[20] the UK's largest business investment agency. He is also a director of two theatre production partnerships, Playful Productions and Fiery Dragons, as well as director of AKA UK, a marketing agency to the live entertainment industry. In Oct 2011 Johnson became a non-executive director of Metro Bank plc.^[21] He was a non-executive director of art publisher Phaidon Press from August 2010 to October 2012.^[22]

Former investments

In 1996 Johnson co-founded Integrated Dental Holdings, expanding it to become the UK's largest chain of dental surgeries, with over 500 dentists. The firm was sold in 2006 for over £100 million.^[4] From 2004 to 2006 Johnson was director of Dollar Financial Group Inc, a US NASDAQ traded corporation with $80m EBITDA.^[4] He was involved in parcel delivery and maritime commerce through Nightfreight and American Port Services.

He served as a non-executive director of Elderstreet VCT plc for ten years. Through Risk Capital Partners, Johnson was a founder, part-owner and director of recruitment business InterQuest Group plc. Risk Capital Partners is also a former investor in advertising and design group Loewy, which was sold in 2006, and formerly a part-owner of fresh fish distributor Seafood Holdings,^[23] sold in 2010 for £45m in total.

Luke Johnson became Chairman and part-owner of Giraffe Restaurants in 2004. In 2013 he stepped down as Chairman, upon Giraffe's sale to Tesco for a reported £50m.^[24]

Journalism and media

Johnson was Chairman of Channel 4 Television Corporation from January 2004^[25] to January 2010, during which time he appointed a new CEO, restructured the board and saw the organisation enjoy record ratings, revenues and surplus.

He now writes a weekly column on entrepreneurship for the Financial Times. From 1998 to 2006 Johnson wrote "The Maverick", a weekly business column for The Sunday Telegraph. An anthology of "The Maverick" columns was published by Harriman House in 2007.^[26]

Johnson serves on the advisory board of the Atlanticist^[27] magazine Standpoint.

Other activities

Johnson is Chairman of the Institute of Cancer Research, assuming the role in August 2013.^[28]

He is a former Chairman of The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA),^[29] completing a three-year term in October 2012. He was governor of The University of the Arts between 2000 and 2006. He was also Chairman of Action on Addiction from 2011 to 2012.^[30] In June 2012 Johnson was appointed Chairman of Startup Britain, the national campaign to stimulate start-up growth in the UK.^[31] Johnson is also Chairman of Career Colleges, an organisation planning 40 vocational colleges for 14-19-year-olds.^[32]

In October 2013 Johnson co-founded and launched the Centre for Entrepreneurs, a non-profit think-tank aiming to address the "...under-represention of entrepreneurs in the public eye" and to "...promote entrepreneurship to government, media, the private sector (including big businesses) and the general public."^[33]

With Stephen Lambert and Christopher Hird, Johnson co-produced The Flaw,^[34] a 2011 documentary film detailing the events leading up to the financial crash of 2008. The film takes its title from Alan Greenspan's admission to US Congress that he had been mistaken to put so much faith in the self-correcting power of free markets.

Inspiration and philosophy

As well as the meeting with Branson and an admiration for the durability of Rupert Murdoch, Johnson quotes the advice financier JP Morgan gave to a frantic man who asked him what the markets would do: "Young man, the market will continue to fluctuate." Johnson says: "It's a great piece of advice because if you're involved in the stock market you should never worry about the day-to-day price of your shares. What's more important is the reality of your day-to-day business."

Johnson's business philosophy is: "Not to dwell on mistakes and not to get overwhelmed with regret. When things go wrong you have to move forward and look at each week afresh."^[35]

Personal

Johnson is married with three children and lives in London.

Publications

• Start It Up: Why Running Your Own Business is Easier Than You Think - ISBN 978-0-670-92047-1
• The Maverick - ISBN 978-1-905641-40-6
• Betting to Win - ISBN 0-948035-31-5
• The Key to Making Money in the New Stock Market - ISBN 0-297-79296-2
• How to get a Highly Paid Job in the City - ISBN 1-85091-474-5
• 30 Ways to Make Money in Franchising - ISBN 0-948032-48-0
• 30 Ways to Make Money in Property - ISBN 0-948032-43-X

Reviews of Start It Up: Why running your own business is easier than you think

"Probably the best book available on the subject." (Management Today)

"Brilliant. It's all here: the triumphs and disasters, the iron law of the business cycle and the timeless wisdom of those who've gone before him" (Brent Hoberman, founder of lastminute.com )

'Clear, thoughtful and passionate' (The Economist)

"Nine out of ten How-To books are a bore. This is the one out of ten. It's easy to read, with original ideas and useful advice for wannabe tycoons" (Jeff Randall, Sky News presenter and Daily Telegraph columnist )

Reviews of The Maverick

"The Maverick column displays original thinking that often challenges conventional opinion - Luke Johnson's views are provocative and worth reading." Michael Spencer, founder and Chief Executive, ICAP

"Independent, unorthodox, even bloody minded—Johnson can be all these and it's what makes him worth reading. The Maverick amounts to an analysis of how we've done business this past decade and holds valuable lessons for the next one." Peter Bazalgette, Chairman Endemol UK (producer of the Big Brother reality TV show)

References

External links

• Centre for Entrepreneurs
• On what makes a successful entrepreneur - We Are Like Minds (video)
• Luke Johnson interview at The Telegraph's Festival of Business (video)
• Guardian interview April 2011: "Capitalism is not a dirty, grubby pastime"
• Sunday Times 2009 news item "Luke Johnson raises £75 million with Risk Capital Partners"
• Grant Thornton's "My Big Decision" interview about the takeover of Pizza Express
• Interview with Management Today 2009: "The multi-talented Luke Johnson shoots from the hip on the City, the BBC, and the evils of red tape..."
• Interview with Exec Digital 2008: "Driven to diversity - meet Britain's busiest entrepreneur"
• Speech given in 2006 to the Bruges Group on British policy towards the EU
• Bookseller editor-in-chief, Neill Denny's blog regarding Luke Johnson and Borders Group
• The Bookseller interviews Luke Johnson about his new book, Start It Up
• Luke Johnson's personal website
• Luke Johnson's Management Today column

Video

• Luke Johnson talks to Sky's Jeff Randall
• Luke Johnson is interviewed by James Harding at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival 2006 MacTaggart Lecture
• Luke Johnson on the Importance of Invention
• Luke Johnson on Pizza Express and taking risks when young