James began his career as a graduate trainee with Bass Taverns – now trading as Mitchells & Butler PLC – and followed this with five years as an area sales manager for the business. In 1988 he joined BrightReasons Restaurants Ltd as an Area Manager, firstly for Pizzaland and later for Bella Italia. In 1998 he joined Pizza Express plc as Regional Director for London and in 2000 took up the position of Managing Director. James left Pizza Express in 2002 and joined Tragus shortly afterwards.