Stephen Goodyear, who stepped down as chief executive of Young’s last week, talks to James Wallin about his 13 years at the helm of the company and 42 years in the pub trade. He discusses the evolving role of pubs in society, the company’s ambitions in its food and accommodation and offers and why it may be making a return to brewing.
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” according to Samuel Johnson. But Stephen Goodyear has little truck with that.
The avuncular ex-chief executive of Young’s stepped down earlier this month after 13 years in that post and 21 years in total with a company that is synonymous with the capital. But meeting with him in the boardroom of Young’s Wandsworth headquarters the day before his final annual general meeting, the overwhelming feeling is that this is a man who loves his city, his company and the sector he has devoted his working life too.
Asked about the impact of the vote to leave the EU on London’s position as a global powerhouse, Goodyear seems almost personally affronted.
“I’ve seen London develop from a fairly grotty city to an envy of the entire world,” he harrumphs. “It’s still a fantastic city and one that people from all over the world want to visit. I don’t see that changing whether or not we’re in the EU.”
He adds: “The benefit of being part of a company that has been around for so long is that you get a sense of perspective on these things. During the last recession a lot of people thought it was the end of the world and of course it wasn’t and neither will this be.”
If London is his mistress then Young’s is the love of his life and the company owes a lot to him. It was Goodyear who spearheaded a complete overhaul of the company’s model, selling the brewery site for £70m and setting up a joint venture brewing enterprise with Charles Wells, which the latter eventually bought out in 2011.
He has also overseen the company’s now entrenched reputation as a high watermark for pub food – enhanced further by the acquisition of Geronimo Inns.
“Good god, if you’d told me we’d have such things as executive chefs working for Young’s…..” he marvels.
He created Ram Pub Company and insists the company remains committed to its tenanted estate and would still consider adding to it.
But as of 5 July, Goodyear has stepped back to the role of non-executive director, handing over to retail director Patrick Dardis. The two have had a close working relationship over the years and Dardis has insisted it is “business as usual” for Young’s going forward.
But business has never stood still for long during Goodyear’s time in charge of Young’s - a tumultuous period for the Great British boozer, which saw the sector forced to evolve by the smoking ban, recession and increased competition from all sides.
Reflecting on the changes since he began his career as a management trainee at Courage in 1974, Goodyear says: “This is still a strong industry but it has changed almost beyond recognition. The diversity that is on offer in terms of drinks and the quality of food you get in pubs is beyond what you could ever have imagined in the 70s. We have taken strides forward in the kind of customer service you get in pubs and opened them up to the whole of society.
“There might be fewer of them than in those days – and that of course is sad – but I don’t think anyone could argue that the quality of British pubs is higher than it has ever been.”
Goodyear points to Young’s recent innovation Burger Shack as a way in which this venerable pub sector stalwart is moving with the times.
“It’s been a hugely successful way of using the space we have in some of the pubs and transforming it into something else that is driving revenue.
“It’s also part of this trend away from traditional mealtimes, which we have tried to capitalise on.”
While food remains a hugely important part of the Young’s offer, Goodyear is at pains to point out that the company was born and bred in beer and it remains a fundamental part of the offer.
There are even plans afoot for the company to get back into brewing – albeit on a much smaller scale.
The company is looking at developing a microbrewery on the site of the former Young’s facility which Goodyear said would be “more of an educational thing – not commercial brewing”. The site will also feature a museum and Young’s will redevelop its Old Brewery Tap and Spread Eagle sites.
He adds: “I remember John Young saying that the decision to sell the brewery was a matter of head over heart, and we still have that love of beer in the company, which I think is very important.”
One of the most significant revenue streams explore by the company during Goodyear’s tenure has been accommodation, with nearly 500 bedrooms and over 20 hotels. The operation now has what Goodyear describes as “its own unique division” and he is keen to add more.
“We probably have about another 100 or so but the timeframe for developing those very much rests around planning permissions.
“We have gradually gone more down the boutique route and it’s a model that works well for us. It’s business people during the week and at the weekends you get mums and dads with the food parcels for the kids coming into London.”
Goodyear says while accommodation, or the scope to add it, are attractive features in a potential acquisition, they are not essential.
He says: “Where hotels can complement the business then it’s jolly nice to have that extra revenue and it’s something we are keen to keep developing but pubs are our core.”
While it is the 170-strong managed house division that has shown the most impressive growth for Young’s, Goodyear says the company’s 80 tenanted pubs continue to make their mark. A programme to refresh the external signage of the estate, to more prominently reflect the Ram brand is about a third of the way through and is expected to be completed by the end of next year.
Goodyear is effusive about the future of Young’s under Patrick Dardis, who has been the driving force behind recent innovations such as Burger Shack, and sees plenty of potential left.
“There are still areas of London where we aren’t represented at all and others where we’d like to have more pubs,” he says. “There’ still lots more to go at in London and that is still where we see the biggest potential. We will look at opportunities outside London as we have done over the last few years but it’s not a major focus.”
On the potential for a further bulk purchases he says: “We don’t set ourselves targets so we would never go for a group just to make up the numbers. But the Geronimo acquisition proved to be a very positive move and if another opportunity like that came along then why wouldn’t we look at it?”
Asked about his plans for retirement Goodyear says: “I’ll still be on the board in a non-executive capacity but I’m looking forward to spending more time on the golf course and being able to enjoy Young’s pubs as a customer.”
