Old Hall Inn: banking on a challenge

At 28, Daniel Capper traded in his life as an international banker to help his parents resurrect the family business, the Old Hall Inn in Whitehough, Derbyshire. Noli Dinkovski finds out how he got on.

How we got here​

My parents Michael and Ann bought the Old Hall Inn in 1989 and ran it successfully for a few years.

Fifteen years ago they decided to lease out the Grade II-listed coaching inn and manor house, but unfortunately the lessee failed to make it work, so they leased it out again — and it failed again.

When they repossessed the property in 2004 it was in a sorry state. I had been working in London for an international bank, but decided to come back to Derbyshire for a year

to help them out. Although I loved London, my heart really belonged here — it's the place where I grew up, after all. So when my parents decided they wanted to take a step back from the business two-and-a-half years ago, I took over. They are still joint licensees, however, and both continue to help to me.

Ongoing refurbishment​

We couldn't afford to close the pub for any considerable length of time, so we set about renovating it while trying to build trade.

To start with, we bought inexpensive kit such as ovens and dishwashers just so we could get the kitchen working. All the renovation work has been done to a really high standard, which is in large part thanks to my father (a builder by trade).

We have refurbished the four letting rooms, put in a new bar, done extensive re-roofing work, re-plumbed, put in new floorboards — in fact, there's not much we haven't done. I'd say we've spent at least £200,000 on refurbishment as we've gone along.

Part of the understanding of me taking over the business was that

the adjoining Whitehough Hall, which was part of my parents' living quarters, would become part of the pub. The 14th-century hall, with its Minstrels Gallery, has a proper medieval feel and comes complete with banqueting table, which is great for large groups.

Business philosophy​

Our vision is to be a typical traditional English pub at its best. Winning the Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA's) Derbyshire Pub of the Year and being a Morning Advertiser Great British Pub finalist indicated we're on the way to achieving it, but there's room for improvement.

We have created a place with a buzzing atmosphere that is equally welcoming whether you want to eat or just drink. All our food is sourced from local suppliers, and our ale from independent brewers.

Ale emphasis​

Our food business is extremely busy — about 100 covers a day for what is not a massive place. However, we put a really big emphasis on the fact that we are a country inn/ale house, and we don't want the food to detract from that. Visit us in the evening and you will find several people at the bar drinking and jostling for space. That keeps things very informal and it also manages expectations — our food is fantastic, but it isn't a fine-dining experience.

We sell about 20 different ales a week — the equivalent of around 25 barrels. We change our offer every day and there are always eight different ales on at any one time. We usually have at least one beer from Thornbridge Brewery down the road in Bakewell, and a selection from a host of other local breweries. Marston's Burton Bitter is our only permanent ale — its malty taste is a point of difference to the hoppier styles of the local breweries that we predominantly sell here.

Festival fever​

Another major part of our ale offer includes hosting two beer festivals every year. At our last one in September, we had close to 4,000 visitors over three days — an insane number given the size of the place. We had a real-ale bar in the hall with 36 barrels stacked to the ceiling, and a bar outside in the garden where we sold 20 ciders. We sold 85 barrels in total — that's over 6,500 pints, which is phenomenal.

I used wholesalers to source beers for the festival in order to get my hands on the 90 or so different beers we had available. The second beer festival we have each February is a bit smaller. Because of the weather at that time of year we can't really do anything outside, so we scale it down a bit.

Mind your Ps and Qs​

We have quite a lot of younger people drink here, and they are always well-behaved. The reason is that we don't allow swearing. I know that sounds a bit antiquated but it's a policy that works. Youngsters want to drink here as it's the liveliest place in the area, so there's a bit of an incentive for them to stick to our standards.

We are not into barring people, but when we took over the pub again there were a few situations where we had to. You're never going to build a business while there's someone swearing loudly in the corner and intimidating other customers. We gave people every chance to change their ways, but those who couldn't were barred for life.

The community cause​

Whitehough is a little hamlet on the edge of Chinley, which is itself only a small commuter village 40 minutes from Manchester and Sheffield on a direct train line. Chinley is a bit on its knees really — there's not much soul there — no pub, for instance. Therefore it's up to us to ignite the community spirit in the area.

We host a number of fund-raising events for local charities and projects. Last year we held a Robin Reliant race to John O'Groats with another local pub and raised £8,000, for instance. More recently we helped raise money towards a new surface for the netball pitch in Chinley.

A typical event would involve us putting on free food, but asking customers to make donations. Quite a few members of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra live in Chinley, and they occasionally help our fund-raising efforts by putting on impromptu performances.

Off the beaten track​

Despite being in the picturesque Peak District, we are just off the regular tourist trail. True, our four rooms are often full with tourists, and we will be expanding to seven rooms soon, but these tourists are generally repeat customers who don't come from too far afield. I'd say it's a blessing not to have many tourists, as it keeps us less seasonal. But it does mean we have to work a bit harder, because we've got to make sure customers come back.

Building a brewery​

The business has grown significantly in recent years, but we don't intend to stop yet. Plans are afoot to have our own brewery, which will probably require a new, separate outbuilding. My other focus is to make sure the business is watertight with no wastage. It's about improving margins without passing any extra cost onto the customers. At the end of the day, offering good value is what we're about.

Capper's tips for successful trading​

• Stick to your guns. Really focus on what it is you're about and make sure whatever you do, you stick to those plans. Too many pubs give out confused messages — they try to please everyone.

• Be consistent. There's no point in giving people a fine-dining experience one week and pretty average food the next. In fact, you'd be better off serving average food constantly.

• Listen to customers. It doesn't take many people to ask for something before we start to take it seriously. Last year we didn't serve any mild beer — 12 months on we are CAMRA's Mild Champion Pub for the area. But ensure customer demands are compatible with your own vision.

Facts 'n' stats​

Tenure: Freehold

Annual turnover: £800,000 (forecast to be £1m in the next 12 months)

Wet:dry split: 50:50

Dining covers: 65

Average covers: 100 per day across the week

Letting rooms: £85 for a double room

Staff: 30

Projected staff wages as percentage of turnover: 25%

Average cost of a three-course meal: £20

Average cost of a pint: Marston's £2.40, Staropramen £3

Average cost of a soft drink: J2O £2.10

Average cost of a glass of house wine: £4 (large), £2.50 (standard)