EP Business in Hospitality Issue 48 - January 2014

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. •