Yorkshire & North East

David and Claire Smith

The Princess, Rawdon, West Yorkshire

What persuades someone with a lucrative and secure job to throw it away for a life running a pub? In the case of ex-banker Paul Smith and wife Claire, the answer is motivation and self-belief. These qualities have helped them enter the trade with a bang.

Returning to the good old days

Paul and Claire took over the Princess at Rawdon two years ago, with a game plan of turning the Punch Taverns pub around.The couple invested an initial £40,000 in the business in return for Punch agreeing to an initial rent reduction.

Today, the Princess is a thriving pub, fast returning to its days as one of the jewels in the Tetley Pub Company's estate.

Difficult start before success

Slowly but surely, hard work and enthusiasm began to pay off. Regulars who had deserted the pub began to re-appear and new

customers starting visiting for food.

Claire recalls: "It was a huge risk for two people with no experience of the pub trade.

"When we came here, the pub was taking just £2,000 a week, which was a poor return bearing in mind the rent was £670 per week. Turnover is now about £7,000 a week, so we really have turned the corner."

Local seal of approval

The Princess now offers a wealth of different services to attract customers to the pub. These include a new food menu and £16,000 courtyard beer garden, which opened after the first year of business.

Claire says: "This part of Rawdon is a conservation area and has a population with a good disposable income. The vast majority of local people are delighted the pub is now back on track. We are proud of what we have achieved here and feel delighted that our home-made food and range of cask beers have won the local seal of approval."

She adds: "We had a dream of developing a really good pub for locals and our success here was worth the initial gamble."