The former operations chief at the John Lewis Partnership and the boss of pub chain JD Wetherspoon were among the standout food and drink industry names to receive accolades in the 2024 New Year Honours List.
Tim Martin, who founded the budget pub chain in 1979, was awarded a knighthood for services to hospitality and culture.
Andrew Murphy, who left JLP in January 2023, was awarded an OBE for services to British retail.
During a 30-year spell with the partnership – which started on the John Lewis shop floor in Aberdeen – he held roles including retail director, chief information officer and group operations director, before taking over as group chief operating officer in January 2022. During that time, he was responsible for supply chain operations across both Waitrose and John Lewis businesses.
Murphy is now CEO of toy retailer The Entertainer and is also co-chair of the Scottish Retail Industry Leadership Group. He said he was “delighted, but a bit taken aback” by the recognition.
“More importantly, however, I’m very conscious that, throughout all the years in which I’ve tried to help develop and advocate for the UK retail industry, for not one second of it was I working alone,” Murphy said in a LinkedIn post.
The self-styled ‘queen of shops’ Mary Portas was another high-profile name to be honoured, receiving an MBE for her services to business, broadcasting and charity. As was Michael Eavis, the founder of Glastonbury Festival who runs a herd of 500 dairy cows, who received a knighthood.
After a year in which food prices and retail practices came under intense scrutiny from regulators and consumer groups, there was a notable dearth of senior figures from supermarkets and suppliers compared to 2023’s list.
Nevertheless, academics, public health officials and farmers were honoured for their services to the food, drink and fmcg industry over the past year.
Read the list in full:
Knighthood
- Tim Martin, founder and chair of JD Wetherspoon, for services to hospitality and culture
- Michael Eavis, founder of Glastonbury Festival and dairy farmer, for services to music and charity
OBE
- Jacqueline Blake, lately chair of trade body LACA ,The School Food People, for services to education
- David Foskett, lately head of hospitality at University of West London, for services to the hospitality industry and inclusivity
- Paul Heygate, joint-MD of flour producer Heygates Group, for services to the food industry and charity
- Gordon Hickman, head of exotic disease control at Defra, for services to animal health and for voluntary service
- Andrew Murphy, CEO The Entertainer, for services to the British retail industry
- Mary Portas, retail consultant and broadcaster, for services to business, broadcasting and charity
- Professor Ulrike Schmidt, professor of eating disorders, King’s College London and consultant psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust, for services to people with eating disorders
- Collin Willson, animal welfare veterinary lead for Wales, Defra, for services to animal welfare and veterinary public health in the meat industry
- Philip Wynn, chair of LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), for services to farming and the environment
MBE
- Philip Haughton, founder of the Bristol-based grocer Better Food, for services to sustainable food initiatives and to the community in Bristol
- Martyn Hillier, founder of the Micropub Association, for services to business and hospitality
- Nicholas Johnson and Jenny Thompson, co-founders and directors of Market Operations, which owns Altrincham Market, for services to business and the food sector
- Shann Jones, director of kefir and tea brand Chuckling Goat, for services tro charity and innovation
- Jeremy Lee, chef and restaurateur, for services to the food industry
- Dennis Matheson, chair Tenant Farmers Association, for services to the tenanted agricultural sector in Wales
- Gordon McIntyre, founder and chair of hospitality-focused mental health charity Hospitality Health, for services to tourism and the hospitality industry in Scotland
- Elizabeth Ovens, director of McCaskie’s Butchers, for services to retail and the economy in Scotland
- Simon Rogan, chef at L’Enclume, for services to the food industry
BEM
- Adam Watson, a Coleraine-based dairy farmer, for services to mental health in the farming community in Northern Ireland.
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