Grand Parade Investments appoints acting CEO Mohsin Tajbhai permanently with effect from 1 July.
Gaming and restaurant group Grand Parade Investments has announced the appointment of Mohsin Tajbhai as permanent CEO with effect from July 1.
Tajbhai joined Grand Parade as COO of manufacturing and properties. He later progressed to group COO. In November 2018 he was appointed as an executive director. He served as the company’s acting CEO since 1 January 2019, following the resignation of Prabashinee Moodley in December 2018.
According to a statement by Grand Parade, Prabashinee’s resignation was due to the market sentiment towards the quick service restaurant Industry and the underperformance of its restaurant chains.
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Grand Parade runs the Burger King chain of fast-food restaurants in South Africa.
Grand Parade has been struggling to make a success of its international food franchises given South Africa’s struggling economy and consumer spending that remains in the doldrums. In March 2019, the South Africa Burger King business widened its headline loss 66 percent to R9.5 million in the six months ended December 2018.
In February 2019, Grand Parade liquidated its loss-making Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins outlets.
On November 28, disgruntled investors issued a letter via the JSE’s sens service arguing that Grand Parade appeared unable “to attract and retain the best talent, which is a crucial underpin for Grand Parade’s long-term success”.
Moodley was the second CEO to resign from the company in 2018.
She resigned in December 2018, after less than five months in the top job. Before her appointment, Grand Parade executive chairman Hassen Adams doubled as acting CEO.
