Said Takhamt to join Pure as COO

Healthy grab-and-go concept Pure has appointed former Pret A Manager stalwart Said Takhamt to the new role of chief operating officer.

Takhamt will join the business in the autumn from sustainable brand Cojean, where he has been chief executive for 14 months. He was previously operations director at Eat, director of development at Itsu and earlier in his career spent nearly 12 years at Pret A Manger where he worked his way up from a general manager across five sites to head of operations for the UK and overseas.

In his new role, Takhamt will be responsible for running the day–to–day operations of Pure's 21 sites and oversee the people team responsible for recruitment, learning, training and development.

Spencer Craig, chief executive of Pure, said: "We are truly delighted to bring Said and his expertise on board at this very exciting time in the business. We believe his skills will help successfully grow the Pure business as it continues to expand across London and into major travel locations. His wealth of unrivalled experience makes him perfectly placed to take on this challenging new role."

Founded in 2009 by Spencer Craig and Edward Bentley, Pure today employs 500 staff. In 2016 Whitbread acquired a 49% stake in the business.