Village Green Inns: horse trading

Freddie Collier, managing director of Village Green Inns, talks to Noli Dinkovski about his latest pub, the Horseshoes, in Dorrington, Shropshire, which reopened in April after an £830,000 refurbishment.

How we got here​

My two brothers and I have wanted to do something together for many years. One is a property developer and was coming across a lot of pubs — many of which were attractive village locals in need of redevelopment. So between him, my other brother, who works in the City, and me, we thought we'd set up our own pubco.

Village Green Inns was formed nearly three years ago, with me as the sole director. The first pub we bought was the Boot Inn in May 2008. It's a black and white, half-timbered pub in the village of Orleton, just across the border in Herefordshire. We bought the Horseshoes for £420,000 three months later.

The vision​

We want to run village pubs where you can get a damn good meal, rather than village restaurants where you can get a drink — all too often, pubs fall into the trap of being the latter.

The social rapport and friendliness of a good village pub is important to us, but at the same time so is good quality food at reasonable prices. We'll be chasing accreditations such as Cask Marque, as well as Campaign for Real Ale awards. The premises supervisor, James Dawson, is a very competent cellar man and keeps extraordinarily good beer.

The refurbishment​

After running the Horseshoes for six months we decided the place was in need of a drastic overhaul. The kitchen would have probably been condemned had there been an inspection. We first decided to close down the main area of the pub and moved our trade into what was the function room, operating from there for 12 months and spending around £30,000 on minor improvements.

The major refurb started last October, and the pub reopened in April. We knew that more than a lick of paint was required if this pub wasn't going to end up as one those seven or so that close every day.

The pub has a post office, which has moved to what was the function room, leaving in its wake space for a new kitchen. In the main area there's a brand new, gorgeous oak bar with a stone floor. At the rear of the pub there is a glass conservatory with big oak pillars, and lots of large comfy sofas and a modern fireplace.

The design is very much a combination of traditional and contemporary architecture.

The beer garden has been completely re-landscaped with the addition of an attractive stone wall. The terraced area can now fit 85 covers, plus there's space for another 25 covers on the lawn. We've added jumbrellas, halogen heaters and good lighting, which should extend our outdoor trading well into October. There's a dedicated smoking area, rather than letting people smoke everywhere outside.

We have five letting rooms as well, all of which are en-suite, and all retain the Georgian features of the building.

Glass floor​

At the start of the refurbishment the builders discovered a brick vaulted cellar under the main bar. As soon as I saw this extra bit of undiscovered cellar, I knew I wanted a glass floor in the main bar. The builder sucked his teeth in, and the architect sucked his teeth in, and both warned it would cost several thousand pounds, but I knew it was worth it.

Now, customers walk in and can immediately look down into a cellar full of wine. It's very atmospherically lit — the light shines through the wine bottles, and it gives the pub a great focal point. It's also something that passing trade can remember us by.

Food offer​

The pub has a delightful room for 60 covers, and a smaller, more intimate room for about 20 more.

I'd go as far as to say this is one of the best kitchens in Shropshire already. We have a chef with a great deal of ability and skill, David Atkinson, who won a regional young chef of the year award a couple of years back, and a great supporting team. The menu is good, locally-sourced, traditional pub grub. We're ambitious and we want rosettes.

We have a planned 50:50 split, but, if anything, food sales have been slightly higher since the reopening. I imagine through the summer, food sales will continue to take the biggest share, and then as we head into mid-winter that will probably shift the other way.

Community spirit​

We're keen to foster a strong sense of community. There aren't TV screens wall to wall booming out Sky Sports, but we do have a TV that will be used for major events such as Six Nations Rugby and the World Cup.

It's important to give something back to the community as well — we've been involved with Help the Aged and host Age Concern lunches once a fortnight, providing meals at a knockdown price. Residents from Inclusive, the local home for people with learning disabilities, come once a week. They'll come and have a beer and a game of darts.

Hospitality is important too. Service standards say that within five seconds of somebody walking in, they should at least be acknowledged, even if you're behind the bar serving a beer. There's nothing stopping a member of staff from catching their eye and nodding.

I'm absolutely of the opinion that repeat business is more about how warmly you are welcomed than it is selling a pint for 5p less. Repeat business is totally linked to the quality of the service.

Promoting the pub​

The pub lies adjacent to the road, so it's difficult to advertise to passing traffic. What the building did have when we took over, however, was a couple of flagpole holders just below the roof.

We've designed medieval-style banners, which drape down over the front of the pub, and they really look the part. They are the sort of banners you'd see outside an art exhibition.

They'll be continually changing — the next banners are going to be advertising our accommodation, and we're also getting some with the iconic image of Bobby Moore holding the World Cup aloft, to promote the fact that we'll be showing the England games.

Banners aside, a fair amount of money has been spent on advertising in local newspapers to promote the reopening. Social media is important to us too — we've got close to 200 friends on Facebook. Our local MP came to the reopening night last month, as did the mayor members of the parish council. We thought about getting a celebrity in, but realised the MP was far cheaper!

Future plans​

When we set up Village Green Inns we planned to buy 15 to 18 pubs in Shropshire and surrounding counties. The financial crisis has slowed us down, but we're still committed to extending this model out and to finding other pubs with similar potential. After all, it's a model that works.

Facts 'n' stats​

Tenure: Freehold, private owner

Turnover before refurb: £180,000 per year

Projected turnover: £500,000 in the first year, rising to £750,000 in the second year (once our reputation is built up)

Projected wet:dry split: 50:50 (dry trade was effectively "non-existent" before the refurb)

Food GP: 65%-plus

Wet GP: 65%

Dining covers: 80 inside, with space for an extra 110 outside

Average covers: 40 per night (in the first few weekdays)

Letting rooms: £65 single, £85 double

Staff: 25

Projected staff wages as percentage of turnover: 31% in the first year, falling to 28% in the second year

Pricing: Average cost of a three-course meal, £28; average cost of a pint, £2.60

Tips for successful trading​

• Be passionate about what you want to do

• Don't compromise your standards

• Good leadership confronts bad practice — if there's something going wrong with the business, do something about it

• Measure things to manage things — if you don't measure the wastage, you can't manage the wastage

Collier's career​

Born in Staffordshire, my background is in aviation. I spent 25 years in the RAF, flying Hercules planes. I came out of the RAF in 2003 and then became a hospital director.

One of the first things I