Milena Floyd becomes CEO of Creative Restaurant Group

Milena Floyd has been named chief executive of Creative Restaurant Group, the London operator behind Igni, Sumi and Kioku by Endo. The promotion caps a three-year rise through the company, which she joined in 2023 as head of operations.

Floyd moves into the top job from managing director, a role she had held for roughly a year. Before Creative Restaurant Group, she worked at Gaucho and at Orange Brands Management, the operator behind Sushisamba and Duck & Waffle in London.

A four-site group builds out

A three-year rise from head of operations to chief executive, without a single external hire.

Creative Restaurant Group was founded in 2021 and now runs Igni in Mayfair, Sumi in Notting Hill and Kioku by Endo at the OWO in Whitehall. A fourth restaurant, Endo in Chelsea, is set to open on 1 October 2026, extending the group into a fourth London postcode inside five years.

A company spokesperson framed the appointment as continuity rather than a change of direction. "We are incredibly proud to see her take this well-deserved next step and look forward to continuing to build CRG's future under her leadership," the spokesperson said.

The group has not named a successor for the managing director post Floyd vacates, nor detailed any change of strategy under her leadership. Her promotion follows a pattern among London operators of elevating operations specialists to chief executive rather than recruiting externally.

Consolidation across the capital

The appointment lands as London's mid-size restaurant groups compete for sites and staff amid rising food costs that industry body IGD has forecast could nearly double by 2027. Operators with fewer than ten sites face tighter margins than national chains, making hires like Floyd's increasingly central to expansion plans.

Creative Restaurant Group's growth mirrors a wider consolidation trend in British hospitality, where independent operators are also buying up single sites from departing founder-chefs, as with Open Restaurant Group's recent purchase of Wreck Bistro in Liverpool.

Endo in Chelsea will be the first test of Floyd's leadership, opening within weeks of her taking charge. How it performs will shape whether Creative Restaurant Group adds a fifth site before the end of 2027.