The kbbreview Interview // Susie Townsend
Susie Townsend the kbbreview interview
CEO, Harvey Jones Interview: Andrew Davies
At 22 showrooms, Harvey Jones is still one of the biggest premium kitchen retail chains in the UK but there's no doubt it's been on a journey of ups, downs and multiple owners. But aſter a successful turnaround, new CEO Susie Townsend is focusing on growth and identity – "it was a fantastic brand built on fantastic heritage, but it was sleeping…"
A
n ebullient Susie Townsend bounds across the showroom of Harvey Jones in Guildford as kbbreview approaches for a first-time-meet handshake. "I'm afraid I'm a hugger!" she declares and opens her arms wide. A friendly squeeze later and it's not hard to see how Townsend's down-to-earth
personality is already bringing a more grounded approach to a company that is still on the upward curve of a well-publicised buy-out and turnaround. Founded in 1977 by Roy Griffiths, Harvey Jones began in a small garden workshop producing hand-
built freestanding kitchen furniture. Growth followed to around ten showrooms until, in 2007, Griffiths left after a management buyout backed by private equity firm YFM Equity Partners. This was followed by another buyout ten years – and another 20 showrooms – later, backed by Allied Irish Bank. Oh, and then another one in 2022 backed by Coniston Capital. But this wasn't enough to revive fortunes for what was then a struggling brand and, in February 2024, the company was rescued in a last-minute pre-pack deal by current owner RBC BlueBay Asset Management. That was led by then-CEO and turnaround expert Vince Gunn, who had himself only been appointed
just a year earlier. Gunn moved on last summer and Townsend, long-term collaborator and former commercial director, was moved into the CEO chair. So, Harvey Jones has, without question, been through some dramas… But Gunn and Townsend, backed by the new owner, have undoubtedly turned the company around. It
has, for example, opened its largest ever showroom in Bicester Village at the end of 2024 and it is rolling out a new showroom concept that started with a flagship store in Chester in 2025. The very showroom in Guildford we find ourselves hugging in now has also had that impressive makeover. But this isn't about aesthetics alone, Townsend's background is not kitchens but broader retail, and she is clearly bringing that expertise to Harvey Jones. "When I came in, I looked at the showrooms through the eyes of a client," she says. "I walked in thinking, 'this is where I should fall in love,' and too often that wasn’t happening…"
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May 2026
kbbreview
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