Wales

Craig and Millissia Owen

Plough Inn, Aberaman, Mid Glamorgan

It was while serving in the forces that Craig Owen met Millissia, who worked in the officers' mess. After marrying and leaving the army, Craig worked at a factory for two years until the chance to run the Plough came up.

He recalls: "I can remember coming here 16 years ago and the place was just the same as it was then - dowdy and unwelcoming."

Potential was the lure

The lure of the pub for Craig and Millissia wasn't its condition when they arrived in June 2005, but the plans that Consortium Group had to renovate it and revive its fortunes. For the following year, the managed house was little more than a building site with a bar. Apart from renovating the bar area, the work involved bringing an upstairs function room back to life together with its previously defunct skittles alley, and creating a dining area out of a disused room. Millissia adds: "The previous landlady hadn't been in the room for 15 years."

Together with the building work, the couple decided it was time to change the customer base and remove some of the unruly elements that had given the Plough a bad name. Craig says: "We had to be careful that we didn't upset the drinking trade, but we had to stop the trouble-makers."

Welcome back

The Owens believe the skills they learned in the forces helped them persevere. Craig says: "We now get customers who haven't been in the Plough for 15 years, and more couples than any other pub in the area."

Once the unruly element had gone, weekly takings increased from £2,300 to £3,500 almost overnight. Takings now stand at between £4,500 and £5,000 per week, but this only includes a 10% contribution from food sales because the kitchen has just recently come on stream. The figure is confidently predicted to rise to the £7,000 mark by the turn of the year, with food 50% of the total.