UK wholesaler Booker has appointed Neville Irani as its managing director for foodservice and SME.

Irani will sit as part of the Booker executive team, and will report to Andrew Yaxley, Booker Group CEO. He will be responsible for leading and growing the business’ food service and catering arm in the UK.

Irani will join Booker later in the spring, moving across from his most recent role as director of independent food service at Brakes.

Booker has 190 branches across the UK, and serves catering customers with products such as fresh, chilled, frozen and ambient foods, store cupboard items, dry goods and non-food supplies, as well as its dedicated butchery service.

As a subsidiary of Tesco Plc, Booker also supports independent retailers and owns symbol brands including Budgens, Londis and Premier.

Andrew Yaxley, Booker Group CEO, commented: “I’m delighted that Nev will be joining the Booker team, bringing with him extensive leadership experience across multiple sectors, including food service, retail and customer service.

“We are well positioned to support our customers across the hospitality space, and under Nev’s guidance we’ll continue to deliver for our customers, exploring new opportunities and working closely with them to ensure they can get everything they need from us a wholesaler.”