Nurturing real entrepreneurial flair in a big corporate climate is one of the more difficult management tricks. It is as true in the pub and restaurant world as anywhere.
The tensions, and often intentional misunderstanding, between big company operators and the start-up entrepreneurs is never far from the surface, often breaking out into impassioned debate at forums such as our own Restaurant conference. "Where's the creativity and imagination?", cry the entrepreneurs. "Where's the profit?", the corporates hit back.
The truth is that both have much to offer and teach the other.
So it is encouraging to see the biggest corporate of them all in the eating and drinking-out market, Mitchells & Butlers, working hard to tap into entrepreneurial spirit.
The Cock Inn at Wishaw near Lichfield, close by the Belfry golf course, is a former Big Steak pub, now transformed into a modern, stylish, country bar and restaurant, with a strong Italian theme, leather sofas and light wood. It was taking £7,000 a week. Since its makeover it is doing £40,000 net.
The Cock Inn is a joint venture between M&B, which owns the site, and Midlands pub entrepreneur Paul Salisbury, and the blueprint for a small chain.
Salisbury developed the concept and runs the business. Two more sites are set to be opened under the partnership – in Aylesbury and Warwick – with possibly another 12 being talked about.
On the face of it, the deal looks like a win-win. Salisbury gets an initial fee for developing the concept and a share of the profits going forward. He also gets the advantage of M&B's buying power and head-office support.
M&B benefits from Salisbury's innovative approach, both in terms of maximising the profit potential of sites already in its portfolio and testing menu and operational techniques that could be adapted for its existing brands such as Harvester and Vintage Inns.
There are, of course, other JVs where entrepreneurs work with pubcos to develop sites. Tim Bacon's Living Room team is working with Laurel to roll out the Prohibition Bar concept, and the leased pub arena should be built on the ethos. The beauty for M&B in its arrangement is that it also owns the concept at the end of the deal's lifetime.
But even for M&B it is not all plain sailing. One thing entrepreneurs hate is bureaucracy and M&B chief executive Tim Clarke admits to having to protect his entrepreneurial partners from some of the minutiae of M&B systems. Cultural understanding is perhaps the biggest challenge in bringing the two ends of the business spectrum together.
An earlier M&B, then Bass, tie up with an entrepreneurial developer gave birth to All Bar One. So it can work. Whether the current joint venture will bear similar fruit may be a little early to predict.
But the more people trying to leverage corporate strength against entrepreneurial flair the better for the sector – and if the deals are right, both sides can win. That's the trick.
• For a more detailed overview of M&B entrepreneurial initiatives, see the September issue of Hotel Report newsletter. To subscribe call Caroline Holme on 01293 613400.
The tensions, and often intentional misunderstanding, between big company operators and the start-up entrepreneurs is never far from the surface, often breaking out into impassioned debate at forums such as our own Restaurant conference. "Where's the creativity and imagination?", cry the entrepreneurs. "Where's the profit?", the corporates hit back.
The truth is that both have much to offer and teach the other.
So it is encouraging to see the biggest corporate of them all in the eating and drinking-out market, Mitchells & Butlers, working hard to tap into entrepreneurial spirit.
The Cock Inn at Wishaw near Lichfield, close by the Belfry golf course, is a former Big Steak pub, now transformed into a modern, stylish, country bar and restaurant, with a strong Italian theme, leather sofas and light wood. It was taking £7,000 a week. Since its makeover it is doing £40,000 net.
The Cock Inn is a joint venture between M&B, which owns the site, and Midlands pub entrepreneur Paul Salisbury, and the blueprint for a small chain.
Salisbury developed the concept and runs the business. Two more sites are set to be opened under the partnership – in Aylesbury and Warwick – with possibly another 12 being talked about.
On the face of it, the deal looks like a win-win. Salisbury gets an initial fee for developing the concept and a share of the profits going forward. He also gets the advantage of M&B's buying power and head-office support.
M&B benefits from Salisbury's innovative approach, both in terms of maximising the profit potential of sites already in its portfolio and testing menu and operational techniques that could be adapted for its existing brands such as Harvester and Vintage Inns.
There are, of course, other JVs where entrepreneurs work with pubcos to develop sites. Tim Bacon's Living Room team is working with Laurel to roll out the Prohibition Bar concept, and the leased pub arena should be built on the ethos. The beauty for M&B in its arrangement is that it also owns the concept at the end of the deal's lifetime.
But even for M&B it is not all plain sailing. One thing entrepreneurs hate is bureaucracy and M&B chief executive Tim Clarke admits to having to protect his entrepreneurial partners from some of the minutiae of M&B systems. Cultural understanding is perhaps the biggest challenge in bringing the two ends of the business spectrum together.
An earlier M&B, then Bass, tie up with an entrepreneurial developer gave birth to All Bar One. So it can work. Whether the current joint venture will bear similar fruit may be a little early to predict.
But the more people trying to leverage corporate strength against entrepreneurial flair the better for the sector – and if the deals are right, both sides can win. That's the trick.
• For a more detailed overview of M&B entrepreneurial initiatives, see the September issue of Hotel Report newsletter. To subscribe call Caroline Holme on 01293 613400.
