After a chat with Jo and Marilyn at the launch of the PMA’s mentoring scheme, I arranged to go and see the partners at work and stay the night in the B&B so as to fully understand their operation.
I also asked that they send me all their recent figures and trading trends along with their break-even figure and supplier lists.
Alarm bells started to ring in my head when they didn’t have the confidence to tell me about their financial problems themselves, but instead diverted me in the direction of their accountant, a formidable woman who clearly considered herself integral to the day-to-day running of this small business and who, it transpired, had a lot to learn about handing out advice.
Firstly, the figures didn’t really stack up and the pub was breaking even at a much lower level than she had advised.
Secondly, and more worryingly, she had never flagged up the plain fact that money was clearly leaking from the business through a combination of missing purchase invoices and lack of cash controls.
Site visit reality
When I arrived on-site, the first thing that struck me was the absolute beauty of the building. Part 16th and part 18th century, this truly is the sort of pub that every village in the land would want to boast about.
The interior, however, was a mish-mash of styles and a perfect demonstration of the confidence-sapping effect a lack of trade can have.
You could almost walk through the building and pick out which areas were decorated with the enthusiasm of a new operator and which had been subjected to the kind of attention a battle-weary landlord offers when he or she knows things need to change but isn’t really convinced anyone will actually care.
The pub supports an array of local teams, and offers food, a wide range of beers and wines, snacks and events, but only the dining room was really representative of the standards expected in an affluent area — and the trading figures reflected this.
What had gone wrong
Jo and Marilyn knew this and their faces told a million stories as we walked through the building and pieced together their overall business plan.
The louder and, shall we say, more lager conscious punters had managed over time to harvest one side of the pub for their own enjoyment where they could play pool and feed the various fruit machines while turning up the volume on the jukebox.
The more discerning locals had retreated to eating in the stunning dining room, but would rarely make their way into the drinking area. No surprise really, it was lurid purple with more of the feel of a working men’s club than a chocolate box pub.
The flow of the building was all wrong, but more interestingly I was able to coax this view from the ladies quite quickly. They knew what needed to be done, but they had just lost faith in their own view of the business.
The food offering was pretty much where it needed to be, but the chef was buying stock from wherever he wanted and this more often than not included the supermarket on his way to work.
He had established a position of power over the kitchen, which meant he was rarely challenged, when in fact it was a part-time kitchen assistant from the village who saved the day by popping in a couple of times a week to turn out fantastic pies, curries and sauces for chef to dress up later.
Putting the wheels on
All in all my first visit went as I had expected. I knew the pub was in safe hands, but that a huge confidence boost was needed, along with some basic routines so that a clear picture of where things were going could be established.
Office routines didn’t really exist and there actually hadn’t been a daily cash-up for as long as anyone could remember. A dispute over credit on products that had been delivered in error had been left unresolved for months and stock was being purchased from the most convenient source rather than being determined on price.
In the end it took one sit-down chat to put the wheels back on. I set out a cash-up sheet with Jo and encouraged both her and Marilyn to look again at the layout and décor.
We ran through a list of suppliers that may be more profitable and rationalised the approach they were taking to product placement. More profitable lines were to be promoted while the lower-margin “must haves” were relegated to less subtle placements.
Gaining confidence
Being lucky enough to work with two people who in all reality find this business easy to understand, was a godsend. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they attack challenges head-on with reason and vigour, so long as someone can give them the confidence to do so.
We kept in touch via email over the next few weeks and all seemed to be going to plan with the changes I had suggested to improve the vibe and feel of the pub, while also making strides to understand the figures and keep a tighter control of the business-end of things in the office.
We set a date for me to return and off they went, plan in hand to attack the all-new College Arms.
Joy of visit two
Visit two was a complete joy. Everything we had discussed and more had been carried out expertly and with no compromise. A new gaming area, a new drinking room experience, a shared drinking and dining room, a couple of new Chesterfield sofas that look like they belong in the pub had been installed and planning was under way for what went on to be a sell-out Christmas Day lunch.
Jo had discovered so much change in the building her bank manager would probably have willingly bought it from her to see his branch through Christmas and chef had had his wings clipped!
There was now a clear focus both on keeping and attracting custom, as well as a back-office routine that ensured every penny was accounted for.
Flying high
The ladies were flying and the pub felt like it was under the control of seasoned professionals with an eye for profit in a relaxed environment you would be happy to eat and drink in any night of the week.
There were still minor niggles with the back-bar partly as a result of Marilyn’s penchant for hoarding things behind the bar, but all in all so much had been achieved in such a short period of time it was impossible to be too critical.
Our next aim was to show off this fine-looking local to the villagers and let them know not only what they had on their doorstep, but in how many different ways they could enjoy it.
A cheese and wine evening is coming up, with Jo and Marilyn inviting everyone to come and reacquaint themselves with their local. I’ll be there and with luck so will a large proportion of the villagers.
This pub is lucky to have come into the hands of two such committed individuals and if they hold their nerve they will have a fine future.
The way ahead
Business-boosting initiatives that focus on key diary dates, such as Easter and bank holidays, are being inked into the College Arms’ diary and seasonal trends will be marked out to maximise opportunities.
Sometimes you want to see the nice guys win and this is one of those times. Good luck ladies, you deserve it, not only for your hard work, but because you are actually very, very good at what you do.
Turnover is up just a touch over 11% and the running costs of the pub, as a result of trimming some hours and by purchasing through alternative suppliers, are down almost 7%. Christmas trading beat last year by £1,500 on Christmas week and £900 on New Year week.
The new layout has contributed to an increase in food and drink revenue, with the biggest gain being from locals now drinking with them who previously didn’t like the room.
If trade continues to perform in this way against last year they will make an additional £40,000 on the bottom line for the year 2012, rather than the break-even of 2011.
- Pub mentors is run in association with Coca Cola Enterprises Ltd Open More Business