New era for maturing Searcys

Searcys may have an illustrious 171-year long history to draw from, but legacy alone cannot keep an operator attractive to the modern consumer.

That was the rough starting point from which Searcys managing director Matt Thomas began to evaluate the company’s services and offerings after taking charge around 18 months ago.

“Over the past few years we have spent quite a lot of time looking backwards, or looking internally, and so the aspiration is to really start looking forwards,” he says.

The soul searching into what Searcys stands for has led to some sweeping changes that are only now starting to take effect, some of the most wide-ranging in its lifespan.

Advantage over high-street rivals

The caterer and restaurant operator refined its branding, which was felt to lack meaning to customers or staff, a legacy of several changes of ownership over the years.

Some of its flagship venues – St Pancras International and The Gherkin – have been remodelled to make them fit the contemporary market.

The executive and management teams have undergone a major overhaul, in order to stimulate fresh thinking across the group.

And the food and drink offer has been refined, utilising Searcys’ British heritage – while drawing on the international-facing scope of some venues.

“The only way we can really move forward as a business is by understanding what and how our customers want to interact with us, and look at what makes us unique, what we want to be known for, where we can add value,” Thomas explains.

“I wasn’t convinced the branding stood for anything or meant anything to anyone.”

Searcys has a business roughly split 50:50 between retail: its restaurants, cafés and bars; and events: conferences and concessions.

Thomas believes this diversity and range gives the operator an advantage over more high street-centric operators.

With significant investment at St Pancras and The Gherkin, the former is already showing a c30% growth in sales year on year.

Boardroom shake-up

Since being appointed from parent company Westbury Street Holdings, Thomas has introduced Sid Clark, formerly of Ramsay Holdings, as operations director; Anna Fenton, as head of brand, commun-ications and marketing; and Kate Bell as head of people.

“We looked at each venue, to see if they could operate better financially or qualitatively, and looked at the team that delivers our objectives,” Thomas said.

“We saw some team members go, particularly at the executive level, but that gave us opportunities to find the right team members going forward.

“We now have a really strong executive team of nine, a hugely professional board of individuals.

“During this cleanse, we said goodbye to some customers, where we struggled to make financial returns, or culturally felt misaligned, which was the sensible thing to do.

“And we tried to polish up the business we look after, to ensure it was fit for purpose. We had some real pockets of excellence, but they were only pockets.”

Design Museum move

One development that firmly signifies Searcys’ intent to be contemporary is its appointment as the official caterer for the Design Museum, following the administration of Prescott and Conran, operators of the Parabola restaurant.

It will operate a coffee bar on the ground floor and a casual café-restaurant on the top floor of the 1960s Grade II listed building, with a menu of British classics, salads, homemade sandwiches and a bakery table.

“We are delighted be associated with the Design Museum, as it helps stimulate our uniqueness and how contemporary we are,” Thomas said.

“A brand as established as Searcys moving into the Design Museum might seem counter-intuitive – but I think it’s wholly appropriate and goes a long way to outline who we are, where we want to be, and the relevance of the brand.

“We think we can add lots of value, and have admired them as a museum for some time.”

Bringing finesse

Other initiatives to add value include a Champagne school at St Pancras, which doubles up as a staff training and customer events format.

Alongside this, Searcys has refined and simplified its Champagne menu, reducing its grand marques, while championing its own house blend.

The food offering has also been simplified, with higher-quality ingredients on the plate, empowering chefs to take pride in the core product.

On the friction between heritage and contemporary relevance, Thomas added: “We are definitely proud of our history and heritage, it carries a lot of weight.

“We want to continue to enjoy that, but we want greater depth and diversity.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be cool. But contemporary, relevant and appropriate are words I’d like to have associated with Searcys – while also celebrating and being respectful of a mature and established brand.”