The recent announcement of Kevin De Cesare Snr’s retirement from the post of managing director of Eden Leisure Group signifies a changing of the guard at the major entertainment and hospitality group, indicates current CEO Simon De Cesare.

Kevin Snr follows in Ian De Cesare’s footsteps as he retired from his active role but remains a non-executive director. Simon says he and other directors will remain deeply involved in the strategy and direction of the company going forward.

Speaking to WhosWho.mt, Simon said that the retirement does not indicate any significant structural changes, although he remarked the company would be bolstering its management team “when the time is right”.

He praised the foresight of the two founders of the company, who a number of years ago set in motion a formal succession transition which saw both retire over a few years while putting in place the mechanisms to ensure good governance within the next generation of leaders.

“Being a public company, we already had the foundations needed to formalise this strategy, and I am happy to say that it has worked well.”

Eden Cinemas forms part of the Eden Leisure Group empire, as does Casino Malta, Cynergi health & fitness club, Holiday Inn Express, Eden SuperBowl, Intercontinental Malta, Eden Sports and 89.7 Bay

Simon says that the shift from a family business to a mature enterprise owned by two families is ongoing, but the change is being felt more strongly as time passes.

“This reality should ensure the future success of Eden Leisure Group.”

For Simon, the slow changeover in leadership, including his appointment as CEO in 2018, meant that little has changed from his point of view, although he is now more involved in gearing up the company for the next decade.

Turning to more immediate plans, Simon notes that the company has just come out of the worst year of its history. “It is not clear what the end result of 2021 will be,” he says.

Simon de Cesare

“While we are expecting Q1 to be a washout, Q2 onwards should improve, although there are questions on the speed of this economic recovery, particularly in tourism.”

“Having said that,” he continues, “while our company has invested significantly in our existing product in 2020, we had, for some time, adopted a cautious approach, and as such this gave the Group strength to weather the pandemic so far.”

“This strength has also placed us in a position to grow the company going forward.”

Simon believes Eden Leisure Group’s future is bright. He predicts that opportunities will develop over the next six to 12 months, and he says the company wants to be ahead of the curve to be able to take advantage of these opportunities.

“We think the next five years will be a period of growth and regeneration, and I am excited to embark on this journey. Eden Leisure has grown from strength to strength over the last 15 years or so and, other than a few hiccups, like the ice rink, IMAX, and Bay Mobile, we have retained a solid track record.”

“We are going through a time of self-reflection to determine the vision of the company and our future growth will be dependent on the outcome.”