I am passionate about this industry and I would like to think that my operational experience — having built a business from scratch into a medium-size enterprise — will support the BII and its goals. I understand the growing pains of the single operator, as well as those of the bigger businesses, and I’ve lived the many twists and turns that affect us all along the way.
The big piece, for me, is to help to influence Government — and I have plenty to say. I want to support Steve [Alton] and the team because I believe the BII is doing a great job, especially in terms of the support and services on offer. And I am confident that I can add value, by looking at what else can be offered to help operators.
Like many people in this industry, I’ve worked in hospitality all of my life, firstly as a 16-year-old KP in The Dome at Thorpe Park, earning £1.88 an hour. Within a few weeks I was promoted to cheffing duties and I was eager to take on more responsibility — mainly because it paid £5 an hour and I wanted to earn more money!
In those early days I was lucky enough to work for an inspiring chef and I enjoyed the work. I was the first to clock in and one of the last to leave. And it wasn’t long before I moved on to work in restaurants in Clapham and Wimbledon Village in South West London. These experiences led me to do a degree in Catering Management & Economics at Oxford Brookes University, which provided more formal chef training but also enabled me to take front-of-house and management roles.
Over the years, I’m proud to say that I’ve done every job, from barman and waiter to manager, and I’ve risen through the ranks. I can honestly say to any team member (Barons employs 520 people over the summer) that I’ve done that job, which I believe helps ease any stresses and strains. While it’s true to say that I step in less and less these days, it’s great to have had that practical experience.
Stints at Pizza Hut and with Aramark, the contract catering business based in Southampton, were followed by a move back to my home county of Surrey, joining the 10-site strong restaurant chain Blubeckers & Edwins, before setting up Barons Pub Company in 2000.
Blubeckers was a business very similar to Barons is now — a family dining operator at the premium end of casual dining market. It had great standards and I remember being struck by how professional everything was, from the quality to the procedures and the guest experience — everything was thought about.
Barons, which I originally set up with a partner, began with the acquisition of a restaurant in Cranleigh. My partner was a chef and for seven years we built up the business to three sites, before he decided to go and buy his own pub.
I’m a big believer in always maintaining good relations with people, and when my partner and I parted ways, we remained on good terms — so much so that when he wanted to sell his pub, he approached me first. It was one of the most stressfree deals I’ve ever done.
It’s worth remembering that things often come full circle and it’s important not to burn your bridges. Build relationships for the long-term.
Barons now has 10 pubs and one café, which does extraordinarily well, being on Heather Farm, near Woking, a magnet for dog walkers. The pubs and café are all located within a 25-minute drive, so we promote our Barons’ branding to encourage customers to visit our other sites. We have a diner’s card, for instance, which people can use at any of our venues. We also have plans to increase our level of branding, as we believe Barons is something worth shouting about.
Like most operators, we are always looking for ways to expand the business and boost trade.
Currently, we open the pubs at midday, but we see an opportunity for brunch. It’s a trend that’s on the rise. All of our pubs have great coffee machines and the team will already be on site, and with the rising cost of labour, it makes sense to boost productivity.
The additional costs we all endured post-April have been brutal. It came as margins were already wafer thin. Our pubs rock along but despite being busy, I can’t honestly sit here and say that I know we’ll make any profit by the end of the year — and that’s serving 25,000 to 30,000 covers each week across the business.
As operators, we can put the prices up, but the elasticity of demand means that we risk doing less volume — we mustn’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
I don’t think the Government understands that when our costs increase by a £1, it’s not just that £1 extra we have to take in the till. The reality is that we need to take a factor of three or four: the additional costs for us totals nearly £1 million this year, so we need an extra revenue of £3-4 million, which is unrealistic.
As operators, we have a tendency to remain naturally positive, always working hard to serve our communities well by doing a great job for everyone. But the Government’s policies are squeezing our margins so hard its hurting, and this comes on top of trying to recover from the pandemic. The facts are many businesses are still paying off their Covid loans, as many deferred the first payment for a year, making the five years really six, meaning it will be summer 2026 before people have paid it back. My financier describes the Covid debt as a big ‘cash hoover’.
We have managed to refinance our debt. We bought a new pub last November and took the opportunity to consolidate our debt, putting the tail end of the Covid loan, along with some other loans, into one. But the reality is that over this past five years we’ve not been able to get ahead and keep cash in the businesses, and debt affects all of our ability to invest and to plan to buy more sites, hitting wage settlements and everything we do.
I hope that my experiences, along with my strong relationship with Steve and the BII team, will add value and bring a fresh perspective to the BII.
We buy our insurance through the BII’s Trusted Partners, and we’ve recently invested in Voltage Optimisation, which is saving us 9% on our electricity bills. I’ve also taken advantage of the helplines, which have saved us time and money. I really can’t recommend enough that every member looks at what’s on offer and takes advantage of the free advice and services.
As I begin my new role, I want to take the opportunity to talk more about the employment of young people. As an industry, we are massive champions of youth employment, giving many youngsters their first job and teaching them what a professional working environment looks like.
Yet, the direction from Government is in direct conflict with this. As the minimum wage goes up and up, the reality is that it creates a disincentive to employ an 18-year-old with no experience and few life skills, versus someone with seven or eight years’ experience. While this situation is amplified in hospitality and retail, it must also be happening across all sectors, which is a worry.
I see a big part of my role as Chair to influence and talk about the reality of operating a pub — how hard it is to make any money, why it’s not cost efficient to give youngsters their first job, and why the role pubs play in their communities, the local economy and more matters.
I’m also looking forward to meeting fellow operators and hearing your stories, and I hope together we can make positive change.
