Blackpool, Lancashire
In football terms, pub manager Adrian Clay would be described as a "journeyman", reflecting a 20-year career spent as the host of a dozen or so different pubs up and down the country.
Adrian is currently running SFI's Litten Tree in Blackpool, one of the flagship venues in the company's national pub estate. He and wife Jeanette have been behind the bar since the pub first opened more than two years ago and it's clear the couple couldn't be happier.
Over a period that has not been one of the happiest for SFI, the Blackpool pub's trading record has grown from strength to strength. And company bosses say it is the experience and management skills of the Clays that are largely responsible. SFI executives even use the couple's industry expertise as a blueprint to develop business across other Litten Tree outlets within the estate.
Adrian remains modest, but says working in a charismatic town such as Blackpool helps keep the couple's appetite for the job intact. He remarks: "People think if you run a pub in Blackpool, trade will come to you regardless. It's not as simple as that. Tourists are not actually our core trade because we are off the main town-centre circuit. Therefore, we have to work hard developing local business.
"We get a very wide cross section of customers coming in here, but despite the pub's size, we work hard to foster a community spirit. All the staff are encouraged to develop customer relations because it's important we keep a loyal base of locals."
The Clays supervise a team of 26 full and part-time staff, which reflects the high-volume footfall passing through the pub every week of the year.
Adrian and Jeanette have built business with the launch of a curry evening on Mondays with an average of 120 meals served during each session. Two new DJs are also giving a cutting edge to the night-time entertainment offering on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Plaudits for the pub have come thick and fast, not only from SFI, but also from the local police licensing unit, which describes the venue as "trouble free" in what is a volatile trading town.
Adrian says: "Our plans for the future include growing the business yet further, but we want to retain the friendlyatmosphere of the pub, which, despite its 600-person capacity, still retains a local's feel."