Having undergone a major rebranding, Brakspear Pub Company is well-placed to withstand the challenges faced by the industry. Tom Davies tells Exec Digital more
By Ellie Duncan
Pub companies and breweries have come increasingly under pressure in the recession and Chancellor Alistair Darling’s latest rise of 2 percent on alcohol duty could force more pubs to close. Despite the obvious challenges faced by the industry, Brakspear Pub Company’s Commercial Director, Tom Davies, believes the family-owned business has what it takes to rise above it all.
Perhaps its success is due to the company’s roots in history. JT Davies & Sons Ltd, Davies’ family company, was established in 1875 and Brakspear dates back even further to 1779.
JT Davies started off as a pub tenancy business before moving into freehold pubs. It bought its first stake in Brakspear in 2000 and took over the firm in 2006. “Brakspear was an older business than us, and owned a lot more pubs – they had 104 pubs when we bought them, compared to our 50. It was a reverse takeover,” explains Davies.
With its head office in Henley, Oxfordshire, Davies says that the company’s “heartland” is very much Henley and the Thames Valley area; although the “four corners” of the estate are as far-reaching as Northampton, Dover, Chichester and Salisbury.
With the takeover came a massive rebranding project; one that has cost a substantial amount of time and money but which has proved extremely successful and is ongoing.
“We’ve rebranded ourselves as Brakspear Pub Company, with the aim of bringing all the JT Davies and Brakspear pubs together,” says Davies.
Rebranding the business
So far, about a quarter of the JT Davies pubs have been rebranded and the plan is for the remainder to be converted wiithin the next four years.
As part of the rebranding exercise, the company has installed a new computer system throughout the business.
“We needed to get one computer system to deal with the integration of the two companies; it’s a Torex Caterwide system which are well-known in the industry with pub companies and breweries,” Davies explains.
Although it is not yet 100 percent complete, the computer system has already been a huge success. “The idea is that, at the click of a button, you can access all the relevant information you need to run the business without the need for human generated reports, so it has already been a worthwhile investment,” he says.
Structurally, Brakspear has also undergone a transformation to offer higher levels of support to its pubs. “What we’ve done is to reduce the number of pubs per BDM (Business Development Manager),” he says. “The industry standard is over 40 and in some cases nearer 60 – we’ve actually put the limit at about 35.
“By reducing the number of pubs each BDM has to look after, we’ve given them more time to spend with each, helping the pub tenants to develop their business and dealing with any problems that arise.
“We’ve also been investing heavily in training, in particular taking training into the pubs so that it’s more accessible to our tenants,” adds Davies. “What we’re trying to do is increase the quality of everything within the pubs, whether that be the quality of ale, quality of food, quality of service or quality of environment and atmosphere.”
Attention to quality, Davies believes, is what today’s consumer demands and is therefore what they will get in Brakspear pubs. “The pound has become more precious and I think that, as a result, people do expect more for their money,” he explains.
Supporting its tenants
In such uncertain times, Brakspear has implemented a new six-year tenancy agreement. Davies admits this is slightly unusual for the industry but says that it is designed to give its tenants some long-term stability.
“We want people to stay and invest in their business knowing that they’ve got security,” he explains, adding that this should help the company’s pubs run as profitable, successful and long-term businesses.
“We are a family business with a very long-term view. Some of our tenants have been with us for over 25 years and Ithink that is testament to how we work together and support each other.
When the pressure is on the pub industry and there is a high turnover of tenants, it’s not good for the pub and it’s not good for communities either,” he says. ”So we want to concentrate on building long-term relationships with our tenants.”
So what does the future hold for such an ambitious company? “We’re in a process of consolidation as a company,” he explains. “We’ve expanded quite heavily over the last two years with the purchase of Brakspear; we’ve now got 145 pubs and we’re very happy with that number.”
Investing in the future
But that’s not to say that Brakspear won’t continue to invest in and attend to its businesses. Davies adds that about 40 percent of its pubs are listed buildings, yet another part of their unique charm. So the company has made it a priority to look after these historic establishments, on the outside as well as the inside.
“We’re being cautious with our spending plans,” he adds reassuringly. “We don’t want to invest at a time when we’re unsure of what is around the corner but we are still drawing up exciting plans which we can implement when the economy improves”
And in terms of the Great British Summer, does Brakspear have high hopes for good weather to lure customers to its pubs?
“I’m not quite sure what the long-term forecast is,” admits Davies. “But being an optimist Ireckon it’s going to be a lovely long and hot summer!”