Pubmaster did not leave the failed W&DB bid completely empty handed, it took W&DB's Martin Womack as its MD. Mark Stretton reports.
It was little more than a year ago that Martin Womack and his fellow directors were fighting off a hostile bid to save Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (W&DB).
Pubmaster may have failed to buy the business but it hasn't walked away empty handed. In a classic case of gamekeeper turned poacher, Martin has joined the big bad wolf - and one of the fastest-growing takeover vehicles in the pub industry - as managing director.
The former head of brewing and brands at W&DB will manage the day-to-day operations, while executive chairman John Sands oversees matters financial and plots tenanted domination.
Martin, 47, will also get his hands dirty integrating whatever new businesses John may bring home.
Only 10 years ago, Pubmaster, or Brent Walker as it was known, was dead on its feet. A long list of creditors and a desperate shortage of cash meant longevity was not a word in the staff handbook.
Few could have imagined the business would emerge as one of three pub companies, along with Enterprise and Punch, set to feature in the reshaping of the tenanted sector.
The man responsible for the transformation, John Sands, is a rare animal who is held in high esteem by both licensees and shareholders alike. "He is a legend in his own lunchtime," said Martin. "He is regarded as the saviour of the business and the staff love him.
"My personal ambition is to run Pubmaster and I think I need to demonstrate to the board that I can take the business on from John.
"But initially, I feel I can really add value too. I can get more out of the core and prepare the company for more pubs."
Companies of this size and nature often set aside a small fortune for public relations but Martin sees PR as a key part of his own role. "I plan to find out what people think of Pubmaster," he said. "This company has moved up from 2,000 perhaps poorish pubs to 3,200 decent pubs, yet I think many people still see it as a bottom-end pub company."
Although a premium is placed on public, and licensee, perceptions, the lions' share of his work will be focused inwards.
One of the issues is how to swell the company coffers. "We are very dependent on beer," said Martin. "I will regard anything that a licensee has to pay out for in cash as fair game, from peanuts and serviettes to gas and electric."
So is Pubmaster about to put everything within the tie? "I'm not about to wind up licensees by saying that, but I think we can improve circumstances for everyone - us and the licensees," Martin said.
Pubmaster has made no secret of its desire to grow through large-scale acquisitions. John Sands is already eyeing the next deal.
With the likelihood of 500 if not 1,000 pubs coming into the estate before Christmas, Martin will have his hands very full with the integration.
But he is as qualified as any. At Wolves he integrated two businesses, one of which - Marston's - was the same size as W&DB.
Martin was exposed to the industry at an early age. His aunt, Margaret Grimshaw, ran seven pubs in Blackburn and his uncle, Tom Womack, had pubs in Preston. Martin says he "always seemed to be working behind a bar" during his youth.
After flirting with a career selling for food company Heinz, and then in banking with Lloyds, he joined Whitbread in the burgeoning take-home market.
The division doubled every year and Martin rode the wave of that success. After 12 years he was managing director.
He moved to the on-trade within Whitbread, to create a national sales team. "That was a bit of a culture shock," he said. "There were all these disparate parts of the business so bringing everyone together was a bit of a challenge."
In 1995 he was appointed sales and marketing director for Whitbread Inns, a bustling 1,600 managed business, buying 80 pubs a year and that had a capital expenditure budget north of £50m.
"There was a lot of pressure on Whitbread to grow quicker and to be more dynamic. I was left feeling less comfortable with where the business was going," he said. "When I look back five years ago, it was a £5bn public company with lots of growth and lots of cash cows.
"But the thing about working for Whitbread was the phone always rang."
Most of the calls went unanswered but one day, when David Thompson at W&DB called, the offer was too good to refuse.
Thompson wanted to put the W&DB business into three divisions, with Martin heading the beer arm.
Thompson planned to take part in the consolidation of the brewing industry and wanted Martin to be a key part of that change.
Life at Wolves was never dull. "Within six weeks of taking the job, the company made a bid for Marston's. In turn they bid for us and suddenly we were in a Pac-man situation," he said, referring to a takeover fight in which public companies attempt to buy each other at the same time.
Wolves won the day but the experience was not lost on Martin. "Hostile bids come with a lot of baggage," he said. "They should be avoided. We inherited many people who had no love for W&DB - we had a battle on our hands from day one."
Then a poor set of results and a weak share price meant the company was left vulnerable to takeover attempts. Noble House entrepreneur Robert Breare showed interest but a bid failed to materialise.
Pubmaster emerged with a bid of 513p-a-share, valuing Wolves at £485m. After a year-long saga Wolves remained independent by the narrowest of margins.
The call to join Pubmaster initially came from a headhunter, after which Martin met John Sands at hotel in Wetherby.
A week after a hernia operation and two days before he was due to present to Pubmaster, Martin's stitches opened up and he had to return to hospital. Despite severe discomfort, this rather gruesome development failed to stop Martin travelling from Dudley.
"I was hobbling through London - that was a early sign of my commitment to Pubmaster," he laughed.
The board decided they had found their man and a meeting was arranged with shareholders, including Robin Saunders of WestLB.
"Clearly they had a say in my appointment so I was nervous to a degree," he said. "You certainly don't want to spill gravy on your trousers in that situation.
"But I also needed to understand what they were trying to achieve and it was important to know they still had the thirst to keep driving the business forward," he said.
"Nobody is desperate for a float and nobody is looking to exit the business in the next two to three years."
The Pubmaster executive has seen lots of change and sees a lot more on the way. "Some pubs are still in temporary hands but Enterprise has emerged as a long term player and I think Punch and Pubmaster will join it. Some of the smaller pub estates will take the opportunity to sell."
Martin says the standards of UK pubs still have some way to go. He says service levels have possibly even dropped in recent times. "At the moment, if you go in 10 pubs," he explained, "you probably won't return to five because you would be so disappointed with the experience." He aims to ensure Pubmaster pubs are in the good half.
The new managing director is looking at property in Ripley, North Yorkshire, not a million miles away from the Hartlepool offices. However, he plans to spend more time out in the pubs than at Hartlepool. He has started working his way round the estate, compiling a "things to do" list.
While saddened to leave W&DB, he is relishing the challenge and awaiting the next influx of pubs.
"I never look too far ahead," he said. "I always look at my current role and think about what would be a pretty good job.
"I want to look back in a couple of years time and see that the company has moved on."
Facts
Name: Martin Wom