🔥 Ops Club Networking At The Bar With Tom James 🍻

Hospitality networking, real operator stories, and a conversation with one of the industry's most seasoned leaders.

At The Bar With Tom James

Instead of a fireside chat, we're pulling up stools.

Tom James is Managing Director of Bill's Restaurants and one of the most experienced operators in the UK - 30+ years in the industry, starting as a glass collector and working through management roles at Henry J Beans and Revolution, before Director positions at Jamie's Italian, Coppa Club, and Harbour Hotels. He joined Bill's in 2021 and has led the business as MD for the past three years.

Tom was handed one of the toughest briefs in casual dining - take a brand that Richard Caring himself admitted had become "tired," strip it back, and rebuild it properly. Appointed MD of Bill's in October 2022 with a clear mandate to reinvigorate the brand, what followed was one of the more impressive turnarounds in recent UK hospitality.

In his first 12 months alone, the team identified 187 changes to make - from guest experience to tech to menu. Bookings went up 36% in 2023 after transitioning from a call centre to an AI chatbot. Group EBITDA doubled - from £5.5m in FY22 to £11.2m in FY24. By January 2026 Tom was describing it as their third record year in a row. And now Bill's is back on the expansion trail, with new sites trading ahead of expectations and international openings in Dubai and Riyadh in the frame.

That doesn't happen by accident. It happens through clarity, discipline, and getting the whole team aligned on one simple idea. As Tom puts it - "if everyone leaves happy, we've succeeded."

This is the conversation behind those numbers.

Expect honesty. Expect practical insight. Expect a few good stories.

The Networking

Ably facilitated by Isabel Pollen (https://www.isabelpollen.com/) You'll be matched to groups of 3-4 people across a couple of rotating rounds. Each session is 10-15 minutes, with question prompts to keep things moving fast. Whether you're in ops, people, finance, marketing or any part of hospitality operations, you'll leave having actually met people, not just stood at the sidelines. Nothing awkward, nothing cringey. This will be easy I promise!

Who's this for? If you're running sites, leading teams, or shaping how a hospitality business operates from the inside - this is your room. Operators, HQ functions, marketing, people and finance leaders - all welcome if you want real connections and honest conversation about what it actually takes to do this job well.

Format: Structured networking (rotating tables) followed by At The Bar With Tom James