Quality above quantity for White Rose Inns

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By the front door of 43 pubs across Yorkshire is a small sign saying: "A warm welcome from White Rose Inns".It's the only sign of badging in the pub...

By the front door of 43 pubs across Yorkshire is a small sign saying: "A warm welcome from White Rose Inns".

It's the only sign of badging in the pub company's estate, which ranges from large canalside food pubs to small locals on housing estates.

What they have in common is an unpretentious commitment to raising the standards of individual, traditional community locals — and making sure they really are welcoming.

"Our philosophy is quality rather than quantity," said Tim Drake, the company's managing director. "It's not rocket science. The objective is to get good pubs where the tenants at the sharp end can make money and we can make money, too."

Drake founded White Rose seven-and-a-half years ago after leaving Tetley, where he was a regional director for South Yorkshire.

His partners are two of his business development managers, Joanna and David Roberts, who are now married as well as working together on the operations side.

White Rose this year broadened the business by spending £25,000 on converting a children's play area at one of its managed pubs, the Barge & Barrel, into a brewing operation with a capacity of 20 barrels.

Drake said the investment broadened the range of ales on offer at its pubs and contributed to the company's bottom line. As well as offering the beers to White Rose's own 40 tenants, another 10 freetraders are already buying it, with more taking an interest.

The man in charge is John Eastwood, who brought with him beers from his former venture, Eastwood's brewery, once based in Walkleys clog factory in Huddersfield.

The revamped range includes Best Bitter (four per cent ABV), Leveller (5.7 per cent ABV), Nettlethrasher (4.4 per cent ABV) and the dark ale Black Stump (5.0 per cent ABV).

Since arriving in Elland, Eastwood has launched a new session ale, Bargee (3.8 per cent ABV), exploiting the restoration of the region's canals. It has already won the joint title of champion beer at the Campaign for Real Ale's Wakefield festival.

Five of White Rose's pubs are on the Calder & Hebble canal, such as the Navigation on the outskirts of Wakefield, which makes them particularly popular in the summer.

It has also revamped the Elephant and Castle pub on the Dearne and Dove canal in Hemingfield, near Barnsley, for £120,000.

The 43-strong estate is grouped within a half-hour drive of Leeds, where the company is based in modern offices close to the city's bar area, The Calls — although it is considering a relocation to the Elland brewery.

Acquisitions tend to be within the core West Yorkshire area because "we know the geographic area and the market-place", Drake said.

Like-for-like volumes for the core estate are certainly improving and were 2.83 per cent up over the past six months.

White Rose started in 1992 with 32 pubs from Tetley and since then has sold 11 — mainly to Enterprise Inns — and bought another 22, giving it 43 outlets.

All but four are run by tenants on traditional fully-tied five-year agreements, with rent reviews every year.

Apart from the Barge & Barrel brands, the licensees have access to products from Carlsberg-Tetley, Bass and the Black Sheep Brewery in Ripon, North Yorkshire.

As a small private pub company, it draws funds for investment from its own cashflow and borrowings, so money is focused very carefully on refurbishments.

Since the beginning of this year, it has spent £153,000 on its pubs, while the biggest-ever investment in its eight-year history was £150,000.

Drake said growth was driven by attracting good tenants, offering them a "personalised approach" that tended to be lacking within larger groups.

"We're great believers in people who can deliver service and hospitality and have a huge amount of natural talent. When you have people like that, you have to keep it and nurture it," he said.

"If people have problems, it's in the interests of everyone for us to work with them to give them guidance and support."

Consolidation in the industry means some tenants find their landlords changing from takeover to takeover, but White Rose Inns aims to give them more security.

"A lot of people don't like all that change but we can offer them a bolt-hole of stability," Drake said.

"Unlike other pub companies, we are not equity-driven. We have nobody interfering with what we do, which is why we can have such stability."

Dave Roberts, who once ran his own pub, provides in-house training, often on a one-to-one basis within tenants' own pubs. It is supported by training consultancy TLC Associates, run by another ex-Tetley man, Ian Cameron. Training ranges from seminars and induction programmes to wine and spirits appreciation.

Although the region's pubs tend to be wet-led, White Rose has been helping tenants to develop their food offering — now eight of its outlets make £100,000 or more a year on food.

Drake said: "Quite a few pubs out there are doing a lot of food which has changed since we started eight years ago."

He said the market had changed rapidly since the company was formed, with more money being spent on pub-going and eating out.

"With the pits disappearing and light industry coming in, there's a lot of money coming into south and west Yorkshire," he said. "It's a good area to be in."

The company intends to continue making a handful of one-off acquisitions each year but has no plans to join the consolidation trail and look for major packages.

Instead, the small management team is happy to be helping its existing tenants to grow their businesses.

"We make money out of this but, just as importantly, we enjoy doing it," Drake said.

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