A Pond rich in life

Giving the Inn on the Pond a major makeover requires investment, but owners Jane and Peter Eyles hope it will reap dividends from Surrey's affluent surroundings. Joe Lutrario investigates

For some a half-millon-pound complete refurb of a Grade-II listed building would be a daunting proposition. But Jane and Peter Eyles, owners of the Inn on the Pond, in Nutfield, Surrey, are no strangers to major renovation works. They've already invested a similar amount

of capital into two other sites within their food-led pubco Cross Oak Inns.

The company was formed in March 2005 and boasts four non-branded freehold sites. The operation is described as a semi-retirement venture, but in reality over-

seeing the four managed pubs is a full-time job.

The couple met in the hotel industry when Peter ran a chain of hotels and Jane worked in hospitality marketing. Jane, who still works as a freelance marketing consultant, handles the PR and marketing while Peter coordinates the operational and financial side of the business.

Project formula

Strict criteria are applied when the company looks at potential sites — the most important being a decent-sized restaurant, a large car park and whether the unit is within a catchment area of a certain amount of people with disposable income.

"We've got to be realistic," says Jane. "We're not going to invest in a place where nobody's going to make the effort to come out. A good catchment area is essential. If we see a

pub we like we'll do a mosaic analysis [a service that tells you about the concentration of a certain social demographic in an area] to let us know if it's viable."

Peter says the company is not interested in acquiring sites that have already reached their potential. "We don't buy pubs that have already been done up or refurbished — they will be good businesses already, because the current owners will have invested and taken the gain," he says.

The site

Cross Oak purchased the Inn on the Pond in October 2006. The site shut its doors at the end of last year for the refit, which is due to be completed later this week. The budget will be £500,000 for the whole job, including everything from the building work itself to soft furnishings, cutlery and marketing the newly-renovated venue.

Acquiring the planning permission for the Grade II-listed pub was a lengthy process. "The original plan was to refit in January last year, but the planning permission did not come through till May," says Jane. "We waited until the end of the year as it would have been foolish to shut the pub over the busy summer period."

Parts of the building date back to the 17th century and it has hosted a wide variety of businesses in its time, including a lamp factory and a fitness club. It was converted into a pub in 1988 and renamed as the Inn on the Pond.

Over the years additional buildings have been added to the original building including a squash court, which will be developed into an overflow restaurant area and function room.

Newt factor

Just in front of the pub is a pond that hosts the great crested newt, one of the few ponds in the UK to do so. Jane and Peter have enlisted the help of the Reigate Area Conservation Volunteers and the Surrey Amphibian and Reptile Group to restore the pond. Once the brambles were cleared, the team found a plaque honouring Professor David Bellamy, who worked on the pond in the late 1980s. A study to determine why the rare amphibians favour the pond will take place in May.

The refurb

In phase one, the main pub building will be completely refurbished —

everything will be brand new, including the kitchen and the toilets.

The new interior will be contemporary, but in keeping with the style of the building. Black paint on the pub's beams will be sandblasted away to reveal the original colour

of the wood, while the seating will

be a combination of chairs and

banquettes to provide greater flexibility.

One of the biggest issues at the site is the fireplace in the middle of the main bar. Because the site is Grade II-listed it cannot be moved. "The fireplace presents a barrier to customers coming in as it the first thing they see," says Jane. "We wanted to put the bar right in front of the main door so staff could greet customers as they came in, but we've had to compromise."

The facade of the pub was another sensitive issue. Council planning bosses initially said it could not be altered, but part of it was rotten and had to be pulled down. It is currently being painstakingly reconstructed with reclaimed bricks.

A large kitchen is being installed where the food will be freshly prepared by the Inn on the Pond's team of chefs.

Peter says: "All the food is made from scratch so we need lots of space, it's the sort of kitchen you'd be more likely to find in an upmarket restaurant than a pub."

The second part of the work, which is due to start in the summer, will create a second restaurant area in the part of the building that used to house the squash courts.

n Keep an eye out for an exclusive feature on the new-look Inn on the Pond in the coming weeks.

Balance sheet

Building works£300,000

Kitchen equipment£51,000

Furniture, fittings and equipment£40,000

EPoS system£15,000

Staff accommodation£15,000

Designers' and quantity surveyors' fees£35,000

Marketing and unexpected costs£44,000

Total:£500,000

Before the refurb starts

How Jane and Peter Eyles prepare:

1) Designer meets client to agree the style and concept of the project

2) Project budget agreed

3) Application for listed-building consent

4) An architect and the designer work together to draw up a plan

5) Application to the local council for planning permission

6) Quantity surveyors (the people that project and manage costs on a site) called in

7) Specification of works (the document that says "this is what we want to have done")

is put out for tender to building companies

8) Budget agreed

9) Start date decided

Top tips to plan your refurb

Peter Eyles: "Be patient. If you rush it, you'll pay for it. The challenge is to start and finish in exactly the same way as you said you would. If you start adding work during the contract, it costs you a huge amount as an on-cost. Deviate from the original plan to the finished article as little as possible.

Jane Eyles: "Any opening should be supported by a solid marketing drive. As part of our launch plan we've sent a mail shot to all houses of a certain value in the area. There are 40,000 houses worth more than £350,000 within 20 miles of the pub, which is very heartening."