EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

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Fast forward six years and Creativevents has come a long way. They were one of the lead caterers at the 2012 London Olympic Games; they have broken into new markets with the launch of Creative Taste into the culture and heritage sector; and MITIE plc acquired a majority stake of the business. The company has been, and is still, on a journey of growing success. We met in their café at The Dulwich Picture Gallery, a recent addition to their cultural and heritage portfolio, where Adrian and Ian talked candidly about how both they and the business have evolved. I asked Adrian how far he felt Creativevents had come since its first pop-up Champagne and Seafood Bar in 1997: “We have evolved beyond all recognition, although we still retain the same principles. We have succeeded in creating a company that is fresh, forward thinking and not frightened to challenge the norm.” In the six years since EP last interviewed them they have built a business that is a competitive force in three markets: • Exhibitions, where they cater at ExCel, Olympia and Earls Court, Glow in Bluewater, Old Billingsgate and 5 at Farnborough. • Cultural and heritage sites at Brooklands Motor Museum, The National Army Museum, Dulwich Picture Gallery and a recent win at the Royal Parks, Greenwich. • Outdoor events, concerts and festivals, including RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows, Live Nations Concerts at the Olympic Park, Magic Summertime Festival and Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Adrian speaks with pride as he notes: “One day we can be delivering a fine dining experience or a canapé reception at a heritage site, the next we could be wearing wellington boots working behind a bar at a festival, the next providing pop-up Victorian tea rooms for the Ideal Home Show or a Guinness Bar for the International Boat Show, and the next providing artist catering, guest areas and VIP hospitality for Jay Z and Justin Timberlake in concert at the Olympic Park. The variety of venues and events we work at is staggering and the business just keeps growing year on year – so we must be doing something well.” Adrian Willson Given that they started with a small start-up backed by a loan in 1997, it is almost a classic story to hear how Adrian and Ian have built the business to become one of only two independent companies, and one of 11 catering companies in total, to be awarded a Level 1 caterer for the 2012 Olympics. During the Olympic Games Creativevents delivered to more than 1.4 million people over the three-week period. At the same time, on day two of the Olympic Games, they signed an agreement with MITIE plc, under which MITIE acquired a majority shareholding in the company. One year on and they have built on their extremely successful reputation and have established a firm foothold in the culture and heritage sector by winning two more competitive tenders – Greenwich Park and Dulwich Picture Gallery. These new contracts are worth an estimated £10.8 million in total. Adrian says: “Creative Taste is one of a few caterers in this market to have grown from a highly successful retail food and drink business. Not only are our customers assured of delicious food and engaging service, but the clients can also enjoy consistently higher returns from their commercial catering spaces. At Brooklands, we have increased sales by 272 percent since 2010.” The Dulwich Picture Gallery café contract announced in summer 2013 has already reported a significant increase in public catering revenue since its June relaunch, following a complete refurbishment and the introduction of a new pop-up café to cope with the extra demand. “What Creative Taste is able to do,” adds Ian, “is demonstrate an understanding of what our customers want to eat in surroundings that are inviting and bespoke to the venue. In general, a visitor to Brooklands Motor Museum is very different to a visitor to The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, so why expect them to eat the same kind of food in the same kind of surroundings? This philosophy runs throughout our entire business, so whether you are at one of our fixed catering outlets or at an outdoor pop-up site, you will experience something designed specifically for that audience and occasion – something that is very personal. “We have huge plans for Greenwich 14 | January 14 | EP
BUSINESS Park, which includes a complete internal make-over so that the spaces are more attractive. What we do very well is to use retail expertise to identify these catering opportunities. Then we maximise them by developing the way food is presented and delivered on site. We hope to achieve a very healthy uplift in sales at Greenwich by stimulating greater loyalty from existing customers, while also proactively generating new ones.” Adrian smiles: “Our business life has never been dull. Since the last time we spoke, we have expanded the outdoor events business with many new contracts, including working with the RHS on their Flower Shows, a six-year contract to provide major cafés for Farnborough International Air Show and a now firmly established British Food Village at Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, with a new site this Christmas called the Apres Bar featuring street food and festive drinks along with music entertainment throughout the day. “The real catalyst for change for us came with the UK’s financial crisis. Up to that point we had grown our business by working in partnership with the banks. The partnership did not change but, as we all know, the rules of lending money changed and it meant that we had constraints on how much we could borrow to grow our business.” Ian interjected: “The marketplace was very different and nothing could be taken for granted. It was a strange reality for us because at that time we were really gaining traction in the culture and heritage sector and were in a position to compete for some major contracts. We had to be careful how we approached the borrowing requirements with the bank where one or more contracts were concerned. “Let’s not forget we were still a very successful business. We have a great team and we wanted to see them grow and they wanted to grow, so we had to work out just how we could change this new dynamic in a new environment.” “We were advised to seek external investment by our bank,” noted Adrian. “So, never being the type to stick our heads in the sand with the hope that these new economic challenges would get better sooner rather than later, we looked at what our options were and quickly pursued them. “Our objectives were simply to ensure that we had the backing and strength to be competitive and grow, as well as making sure that any company we aligned with held the same ideals and cultural values as we have. Having met with some good companies over several months we were then introduced to Allister Richards from MITIE and we soon realised that this was a partnership well worth pursuing. “From the first moment, the cultural fit with Allister and with MITIE was very good. They possessed the same entrepreneurial spirit as we did and they have some great talent within the organisation. “Since we signed the deal, MITIE have been nothing but supportive and they can’t do enough to help – it is a really strong partnership. We wanted to complete the deal before the Olympics began, so we could just concentrate on that, but of course, the two had to coincide and it was pretty intense. We were concluding the deal as we opened at the Olympics. “You will experience something designed specifically for that audience and occasion” “To make matters more challenging, on the very first day of the Olympics we realised that the customers, buying patterns were very different to our projections. The percentage splits between hot and cold were very different from our prior experience, which meant that we had insufficient stocks of some foods and too much of others.” “One of our great strengths,” commented Adrian, “is that we are at our best under pressure. At the end of the first day, we had an action plan. ExCel was the secondbiggest venue at the Olympics and, with a year of planning under our belt, it wasn’t easy to just change course and still arrive on time for the next day, but we pulled it off without anyone else noticing from outside of our company. Our team was exceptional – they worked throughout the night. It was quite an intense few days, but the results speak for themselves.” The obvious question to ask was are they as hungry to succeed today as they were? Has the deal with MITIE dampened their hunger or enthusiasm? Adrian laughed. “You know us far better than that. We love this business and the deal with MITIE has given us financial security, but critically it has also set in place a platform for growth. If anything, we are hungrier than ever because we feel so much more confident in delivering on our promises with MITIE standing beside us. All that has really happened is that the company has entered a new phase of development. “MITIE has encouraged us to flourish and to go out and innovate. We can now look at new opportunities and the results are already there for all to see. We are enjoying business as much as ever. When we started together we were relatively young and inexperienced, but we have worked extremely hard to build this business. Over the last six years, we have built up an incredible team, we have faced many challenges and we have found the solutions together. You may write about Adrian and Ian, but that is not the true picture – it really is a story about the whole team, past and present, who have worked so hard to get us to where we are today.” Ian adds: “One of the reasons we are still hungry is that we want to see how far this team of ours can go. We have come a long way, but we have the capacity to listen, learn, adapt, compete and grow. In many ways, just as the business is entering a new stage of development, so are we – the team – and there are no boundaries in our minds as to what we can achieve.” A great secret to the success of this company shines through in the relaxed openness and sincerity of Adrian and Ian. There is no false pretence – these brothers are genuine, straightforward and very loyal. You might say a reflection of their Yorkshire heritage, but also great attributes of genuine entrepreneurs that live their business. •
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EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

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