Javier Alvarez, Chairman on the BACC, commented:
“We are very excited to welcome Gaucho and Martin Williams to the business community of the BACC.“Gaucho is a very relevant company that brings together international and British expertise together with Argentine top products and talent to offer a exclusive luxury experience in the hospitality sector”
Martin Williams entered the restaurant industry in his teens whilst a drama student in North Yorkshire and quickly climbed the ranks through front of house roles. Following his early career as an actor, Martin worked in General and Area Manager positions at ‘WokWok’, ’Zizzi’ and ’Christopher’s’ before joining Gaucho in 2005. He worked his way up to leave as Managing Director of the group nine years later. During his time at the brand, Martin oversaw its growth from 6 to 16 restaurants in the UK. Martin launched M restaurants in 2014, growing the business to three venues, 150 staff and generating a turnover in excess of £8 Million. Martin was personally shortlisted for Entrepreneur of the Year in the ‘CityAM Awards’ and awarded and named in the ‘Maseratti /Sunday Times 100 top entrepreneurs’. In 2018 he returned to Gaucho to take over the company as CEO, following its period of administration in the years after he left. He subsequently brought the M and Gaucho brands together under a new company, Rare Restaurants Ltd. Martin now heads up a new leadership team which facilitated the company’s growth in 2019, and further success and expansion in 2021/22. Rare Restaurants is now a collection of 5 brands and 22 venues and in 2022 won ‘Best ESG Integration’ at the Springboard Awards