Managing a pub CAN pay – if you make it different
PUB closures are still making the news. But there is a growing number of entrepreneurs who are not only making a decent living from running pubs, but are thriving on it.
Anthony Pender, chairman of the British Institute of Innkeeping, says contrary to expectations, now is a good time to enter the industry.
‘If you put the effort in, then it’s a sector with no limits – a true meritocracy,’ he says. ‘Landlords have to adapt their business to the new environment. But it can be done.’
When Keith and Diane Marsden took over the The Prince of Wales in Moseley, Birmingham, in 2007 it was a ‘classic spit and sawdust boozer’, according to Keith, but he was desperate. He says: ‘I had no home, four kids and needed an income. I wasn’t a pubs person.’
For three years, they struggled, working 90-hour weeks and making just £20,000 a year between them.
Most sales were of low profit-margin beer, which he was tied to buying from his landlord Punch Taverns at a higher price than his rivals.
Keith says: ‘Finally, I did what I should have done at the beginning. I sat down, wrote a proper business plan and decided to make it more of a destination place, make it more appealing to women and families, improving the overall experience.’
Now the pub is thriving, having gone from an annual turnover of £600,000 and £20,000 profit, to a £1.3million turnover and £200,000 profit. The Marsdens were recently named Licensees of the Year by the British Institute of Innkeeping.
‘We experimented with food, but it didn’t really work for us,’ said Keith. ‘Instead we improved the drinks offer, so we now have 40 wines, 40 malt whiskies, 100 rums and a great range of cocktails. We’ve invested in training our staff, who all wear uniforms now, and we have a streetfood vendor in our beer garden.’
Keith, who spent five years trying to set up Europe’s biggest skate park before he took over the pub, says: ‘It’s a great industry to be in.’
The skate park took his savings, his payoff from his previous job at auditor PwC and his house, so he had to borrow the money for the pub lease from his former landlord.
He adds: ‘Other publicans complain about competition from supermarkets or local pubs. Well, we’ve got ten within five minutes’ walk, including one of the best Wetherspoons in the country. But we just focus on being different, providing great value and offering things you can’t get in the supermarkets.’ Another thriving pub is Ye Old Sun Inn in Colton, North Yorkshire. Ashley and Kelly McCarthy took over the lease in 2004, when it had a turnover of £350,000. After a few years they felt they had gone as far as they could with it, as it was leased from Enterprise Inns.
However, the pub company agreed to sell it to them in 2009. Since then turnover has gone up to £650,000. Ashley says: ‘It used to be more of a fine-dining restaurant, but we’ve brought the pub element back, so there’s now a separate bar and drinking area. We’ve also doubled the size of the restaurant.
‘But pubs aren’t just about food and drink any more – it’s about what else you offer. So we have wi-fi and afternoon tea. We open at 9.30am so people can come in for a coffee and catch up after the school run. It’s a hard, but life changing, career.’