In this week’s Diary, Luke Johnson commits to Eclectic for the “long-ish term”; Jamie’s Italian is embroiled in the saga around tipping policies and brewers talk balls
Coaching Inn Group sees double
Edward Walsh, the finance director of the Coaching Inn Group, has told M&C the company expects to complete on a multiple acquisition next week. Walsh said the group was close to announcing the acquisition of “two very well located coaching inns in the north of England” which will add a further 50 bedrooms to the estate. The company took on its eighth site – the Royal Oak in Welshpool in April and Walsh said it was on track to double the size of the estate by the end of 2018. This morning the company reported a 22% increase in turnover to £10.1m in the year to March 2015. Operating profit before exceptional deal costs more than doubled to £800k and pre-tax profit climbed to £510k from £271,000 the previous year. Across the seven inns operated in the last financial year, site level EBITDA reached £2m – an average of £285,000 per site – with food and beverage accounting for 68% of revenue.
Luke’s in it for the long-ish haul
Luke Johnson has insisted that his involvement in Eclectic Bar Group will not be a short-term affair. Speaking to the media following today’s announcement of the group’s financial results for the year to 28 June, Johnson explained the attraction of getting involved in the late-night operator after being approached by an unnamed shareholder in the summer. He said: “I’m an opportunist. I was familiar with Reuben (Harley – chief executive) and the business and it seemed to represent good value as well as being a challenge, and I can never resist one of those. It seemed we were a lot closer to the bottom than the top in terms of where the sector was going to go.” Asked how long he would be with the business Johnson said: “I don’t think of myself as a short-term investor. I have a long-ish term outlook.”
Burgeoning burgers
Young’s will unveil its sixth Burger Shack when The Swan at Walton on Thames opens in November. The concept is already a feature at the Ship Inn, Wandsworth, the Wood House, Dulwich, the Leather Bottle, Earlsfield, the Windmill, Clapham and the Bull, Streatham. Young’s plans to continue the rollout but no further sites have been confirmed. The latest installation is the second to be designed by consultants Harrison. Young’s retail director Patrick Dardis said: “The new Burger Shacks allow us to extend our quality food offer significantly whilst providing our customers with a more fast-casual dining experience. The designs are not just innovative and refreshing for our customers, they are also operationally effective, ensuring our service is efficient during high capacity periods.”
A runway success
Diary had the chance to tour Robinsons Brewery’s fledgling managed estate this week, including the incomparable setting of the Airport. The pub sits quite literally at the end of the runway at Manchester Airport with planes taking off over customers’ heads every few minutes. Back in the day the arrival of Concorde was the big draw for the customers but the star attraction now is the Airbus A380. The jumbo aircraft is such a draw the pub has even has a timetable on the wall so customers know when the next one is due. While this fascination from the ground is understandable, Diary is slightly disconcerted to see the number of pictures sent to the Airport’s Twitter accounts showing views of the pub from ascending planes – many of them quite clearly taken by pilots!
Elsewhere in the Robinsons estate is an addition to the pub house rules which is a new one on Diary. A sign in one pub warned customers they would not be allowed in with football shirts, shorts or even manbags.
Jamie’s Italian reaches tipping point
Diary notes the latest updates from the official newsletter for the Campaign for Tipping Policy Reform – otherwise known as the Guardian. Jamie’s Italian has confirmed to the paper that it received a complaint from staff over its tipping policy. The company’s policy is for waiting staff to pay a 2% levy from table sales generated each shift. According to the Guardian a number of staff members have told managers that the new tipping system is unfair because it bears no relation to how much they actually earn in tips, and is run without staff input or transparency. On occasion, they claim, waiting staff have to “pay to work”. The latest chapter in Tipping-gate comes after Las Iguanas announced it would change its policy after a staff survey. A spokeswoman for Jamie’s Italian confirmed to the paper that it had received a complaint from staff members and was attempting to solve the dispute, but added that the company used a fair and HMRC-compliant tronc system independent of head office. She said: “Staff contribute a maximum of 2% to the tronc system and under no circumstance would they ever have to contribute more than they receive in tips. Since the implementation of the new system, we have only had one complaint from some staff at one of our restaurants who believe that the front of house staff deserve more of their tips – resulting in less for non-front-of-house staff. This issue is currently being resolved internally at that restaurant. Our waiters are some of the highest earning staff in the sector and they are rewarded exceptionally well.”
JW Lees working on Fergie Time
Ardent Manchester United William Lee-Jones used a footballing metaphor when summing up the company’s performance over the last five years for M&C. He said: “If you look back at the end of the season, you measure it through goals, silverware, league position but if you’re looking on a longer term basis then the performance of the youth team is just as important. It’s those strategic decisions you take with an eye on the future that give you a sustainable future.” In the case of JW Lees, the youth team appears to be playing a blinder - aggregated sales over the last five years from 2010 to 2015 have been £297m and aggregated pre-tax profits in the same period of £23.1m: meaning pre-tax profits over the five years have grown by 60% in total with steady growth in most years and pre-tax profits before property disposals at £3.5m, £3.9m, £5.2m, £4.6m and £5.6m in each year. As M&C reported earlier this year JW Lees delivered a record set of results for the 12 months to 31 March with turnover up 1.8% to £64m and the acquisition of three new pubs, The Parrswood in Didsbury, The Kingfisher in Kirkham and The Hinchliffe in Cragg Vale.
A game of a two halves (otherwise known as a pint)
In literal rather than metaphorical football news, Joule’s Brewery’s sponsorship of Newcastle Town Football Club will be celebrated this weekend with the grand opening of the official Joule’s club house. The club, which is currently ninth in the Evo-Stik league, has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Joule’s, which will see it stock a range of Joule’s beers and wear the brewery’s logo on its away shirts and display it across the stadium. Newcastle Town FC chairman Jeff Harrall said: “Newcastle Town Football Club are delighted to be associated with the award winning Joules Brewery, not only are we looking forward to selling their range of beers in the clubhouse but also becoming involved with their other outlets in the community both on and off the field”.
