Tom Grogan is a British entrepreneur best known for co-founding Lemon Pepper Holdings. This company brought Wingstop to the UK and later became the brand’s master franchisee in the UK and Ireland. His rise stands out because hospitality was not his original field. Public interviews describe Grogan as having started in low-paid construction work before moving into property and dealmaking. The Wingstop opportunity emerged in 2016, when he and future partners Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin noticed that the Texas-founded chicken chain had a strong US following but no UK presence. Instead of waiting for an introduction, they contacted Wingstop directly with a cold email proposing a British launch.
The approach eventually turned into a 100-restaurant UK development agreement, and Wingstop UK opened its first site in London in 2018. Grogan and the founding team positioned the business around more than food, deliberately tying the brand to British youth culture, music, fashion and social media. That strategy helped the chain expand beyond London into major cities across the country. Wingstop itself took a minority investment in Lemon Pepper Holdings in 2021. By the end of 2024, the UK business said it expected to operate 57 sites, employ more than 2,500 people and generate revenue above £150 million, illustrating how quickly the franchise had scaled from its first restaurant.
The biggest milestone came in December 2024, when global investment firm Sixth Street agreed to become Lemon Pepper Holdings’ majority shareholder. Industry reporting placed the transaction at more than £400 million. Grogan, Sahota and Lewin stepped back from day-to-day leadership while retaining minority interests, with chief executive Chris Sherriff and finance chief Paddy Bamford continuing to run the operation. Companies House records also show that Grogan resigned as a Lemon Pepper Holdings director on 12 December 2024, so he is more accurately described today as a co-founder and investor rather than the company’s current operating chief. His story continues to attract attention because it combines an unconventional career start, an unsolicited business pitch, and the rapid creation of one of Britain’s most prominent fast-casual restaurant franchises.
