Hive Pubs will be operated by franchisees who have local knowledge and experience of running a pub. Its first site is the Maldon Grey in Sudbury, Suffolk, opened this month after a £200,000 renovation.
GKPP said each of its Hive Pubs will receive investment up to £300k for interior and exterior revamps and said it will “incorporate the best-in-class systems and processes to enable the delivery of a consistent and superior level of service”.
Annual income
It added franchisees will ideally have some pub experience either from a retailed managed background or running other tenancy or lease pubs. Ingoing costs to the scheme start at £5,000 and the company said the franchisee will receive a guaranteed annual income as a management fee of £20,000 plus a percentage of weekly sales. Bonuses based on business performance and standards audits can be attained too. The responsibility for pub set-up, liability for the property and running costs including stock and supplies, marketing, training and ongoing support, is held by GKPP.
GKPP managing director Wayne Shurvinton said: “We’ve created an exciting partnership where the franchisee can bring their individual know-how of the local community to a branded pub concept and deliver the best local experience.
“This is a new format where the franchisee gets an invested ready-to-go pub with a lower risk from inception and going forward. It’s a model where we want our franchisees to feel part of something bigger, with the collaborative relationship with our talented team supporting them and backed by the scale of Greene King.”
Year-round outdoor spaces
GKPP has pledged to ensure its Hive Pubs have “an innovative range of drinks, a food menu with quality pub classics, year-round outdoor spaces and regular entertainment from live sport to quizzes, music and events”. There will also be an online platform created so Hive franchisees “can connect and share ideas”.
The Hive model joins GKPP’s other franchise model, which is its unbranded agreement. The business has ambitions to grow the franchise estate to 100 sites during the next three years.
