MATTHEW HERMER

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Matt is responsible for setting the strategic direction for Ignite Group’s marketing, PR and international growth. Prior to setting up the Ignite Group, Matt was an investment banker for Hambros, Kleinwort Benson and ABN Amro.

In 1998, while working as a banker, he bought his local Chelsea bar on Walton Street, with Paul Deeming. Together they transformed the failing bar into Eclipse – which revolutionised the cocktail culture in London.

In 2002, following the successful roll-out of several Eclipse cocktail bars in West London, Ignite opened Boujis, the group’s flagship boutique nightclub. Matt's own passion for food and wine steered Ignite Group into the culinary sector, expanding the F&B portfolio with the award-winning Bumpkin restaurants.

Matt is responsible for Ignite’s partnership with Starwood Hotels. In 2009, Ignite opened an Eclipse in the Barcelona W Hotel, Starwood’s luxury boutique lifestyle brand, and in February 2011, launched Wyld, a VIP nightclub concept, W Lounge, and a VIP screening room in the W Hotel Leicester Square.

Tatler named Matt the "Restaurateur of the Year" in 2008 and The Evening Standard has featured Matt in 'The 1000 London's Most Influential People' every year since 2008.