Real deal
Life undoubtedly changes when you sell your business to a major corporation, as Nick Pring, co-founder of the now Greene King-owned Realpubs, explained at the MA300 conference. Having to book your holiday time for one. And what of the benefits? “We got some vouchers sent to us every month inviting us to come to a Hungry Horse, where we get a 20% discount.”
Over the Moon
With the issue of how pubcos treat their tenants coming to the fore again, Diary was interested to hear the views of David Mooney, co-founder of multiple operator New Moon Pub Company, on the company’s landlord Enterprise Inns. He told the MA300 event yesterday: “I know it is fashionable to pin them against the wall, blindfold them and put lead into them with monotonous regularity, but they actually did a very good job for us. They gave us a deal that enabled us to open our first pub.”
Pistols at dawn
Talking of the pubco debate, Diary has unfortunately been CC’d in a long-winded e-mail argument between pro and anti-pubco activists in recent days as the consultation into the Government’s proposals for statutory regulation of the industry draws to a close. Just as Diary was thinking about asking the participants to remove him from the address list, in steps Greg Mulholland MP with some words of advice for his fellow Fair Deal for Your Local campaigners. “Don’t waste time on email spats. Please concentrate on getting people taking part in the consultation and pushing the campaign,” advised Mulholland. “I am not going to get involved in any personal spats (and don’t need to be copied in either)…” he remarked, before adding, “In truth, anyone that opposes [the market rent only solution]… is clearly conflicted or confused and is turning a blind eye to the reality of the pubco business model and one of the worst stories of corporate abuse in recent UK history and crony capitalism of the worst kind.” Spat ended, then!
Emeny gets the blues
A little insight into how campaigns are created was provided by Fuller’s soon-to-be CEO Simon Emeny at the consumer launch of the It’s Better Down the Pub campaign earlier this week. Emeny described how the campaign to improve the image of the pub trade was formed by a group of operators while having a “miserable day” at one of the many industry conferences. “We sat in the audience and we watched the industry arguing amongst itself about the tie,” he said. “We were very depressed about the duty regime we were suffering from, and then to cap if off at what was a miserable day, we watched a video about a guy with a guitar singing in front of a boarded up pub that was being vandalised while he was making the video.”
Grand achievement
How would you celebrate a major investor taking a significant stake in your company? A few glasses of Champagne? A night on the town? Diary contacted Grand Union FD Tim Yates on the day the news broke that Luke Johnson had taken a 50% stake in the London bar operator. Tim was unfortunately unable to speak - as he was recovering from competing in the Blenheim Triathlon.
No, minister
Culture Secretary Maria Miller, or whoever writes her speeches, may need to brush up their research skills. Speaking at the British Hospitality & Tourism Summit in London on Tuesday, Miller attempted to promote the best of British hospitality by stating that the UK has two restaurants in the top 10 of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, naming the Fat Duck in Bray and the Ledbury in Notting Hill. In fact, this year only one UK restaurant, Dinner, made it into the top 10 at number seven - the Ledbury and the Fat Duck were 13th and 33rd respectively. Another minister, Financial Secretary Greg Clark, was also scorned when he congratulated the industry for pledging more than 3,000 placements and jobs to young people – the actual figure, revealed earlier in the day, was 31,000.
Horseplay
Diary enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon at Hook Norton Brewery situated in the picturesque Cotswold Hills last week. The family brewer is justly proud of its history and heritage and James Clarke, managing director of brewing, is the great, great grandson of John Harris who founded the brewery in 1849. Although the firm has now embraced the advance of modern technology, Diary was pleased to see dray deliveries by shire horses still took place to the tied estate within five miles of the brewery, even if they do come with one particular nasty side effect. Diary was somewhat put off his sandwich and pint by the pungent aroma of horse manure wafting outside the pub. You can’t beat the smell of the countryside…
Down on the farm
It isn’t just its pub portfolio that London gastro group Renaissance Pubs is looking to expand this year. Co-founder Tom Peake told Diary that the company is also hoping to introduce some new farmyard friends. In 2010, the group teamed up with Locks Drove Farm in Hampshire and three years on all of its poultry is sourced from the farm. Not stopping there, Renaissance Pubs is now rearing a herd of cows. “This herd is a rather modest herd that will grow. The cows are a bit of fun though – an occasional thing, but the chickens, lambs and pork are going to be a long-term solution,” Peake said, adding that the group recently joined the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
Hush puppies
Finally, Diary was tickled by this tweet from Hush Brasseries, the concept from restaurateur Jamie Barber, on the subject of the downside of email text auto-correct: “I wish Outlook would stop correcting our name to Hush Brassieres. That would be a very different restaurant group.” Could Barber’s next move be in the US-inspired ‘breastraunt’ scene?
