Full of Pride

Simon Emeny is at the forefront of Fuller's drive to double its estate but the brewer intends to focus on quality rather than quantity. By Mark Stretton.

Word has it that brewer and pub landlord Hall & Woodhouse recently bought some property because the board thought it "might make quite a good development in about 30 years' time".

The notion of a bunch of directors sitting on some land for such a period of time does tend to cement the view that the pub industry's stock of family brewers are not the most dynamic, fast-moving players in the sector.

But plans are afoot at Fuller's to double its pub estate and while this may not be that radical in the grand scheme of Enterprise, Punch and Pubmaster, it does set the West London-based brewer aside from its peers.

The maker of London Pride is regarded at the top end of the business but perhaps like others, slightly lacking in ambition, especially considering its public status and the consequent ability to raise cash.

"It's a good point," said retail director Simon Emeny. "But if you look at the past 10 years the company has quadrupled its pub estate, albeit through organic growth.

"The values of this company are to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. That means concentrating on outlets that are still going to be good businesses in five years' time.

"This has been a very good business for a number of years and we want to ensure that it stays that way."

Simon, 36, sits on top of the entire pub estate, which comprises of 125 managed pubs, 120 tenanted, and a clutch of hotels.

He began his career at the school of Six Continents (6C), working under Tony Hughes. The head of 6C's restaurant division still laments the day he left for Fuller's. "Out of the people that have left us, he is the one we miss most," said Tony. "Really, I don't think we promoted him quickly enough and now the Fuller family has taken him in as one of their own."

Coming from someone of Tony Hughes' position, compliments do not get any better. And Simon does not hold any ambition to return. "Fuller's was a great career move for me, it has been an exciting time and I think there are some great opportunities for us ahead," he said.

Despite its ambitions, Fuller's will not be steaming into any large-scale acquisitions. Primarily, organic growth will continue to be the order of the day.

"We would rather develop pubs from scratch," he says, sitting in the Counting House, an ale and pie pub in the heart of the City. "This was an empty banking hall and is now a £2m-a-year business.

"We would rather do it ourselves than pay someone else goodwill for their hard work.

"Fine Line, which didn't exist four years ago, is now well acclaimed and returns over £10m each year - to some extent that is far more satisfying.

"Companies don't always get their names in lights unless they are doing high profile deals but I think it is often harder to create something from nothing."

Simon says entrepreneurial development runs all the way through the company, manifested by the beer division's recent launch of Honeydew, the flavoured ale. One industry figure recently said that seeing traditional family brewers and pub operators trying to "do" the high street with branded bars and hip venues, was a bit like watching your dad trying to dance.

Although the Fine Line is aimed at a slightly older market, Fuller's seem to have it cracked. Simon says this is because the concept is built around quality and the major component that makes it successful is people.

When staff are "auditioned" they play party games such as Twister. "The whole operation is based on quality but we don't recruit people because they can make the best gin and tonic but because they have the best attitude."

The retail boss says the staff turnover is quite high because the company would rather employ an Australian, Kiwi or South African who is going to deliver outstanding service but who may be in the UK for a limited period.

"We would much rather have that nine months of intensity from someone who is from a service culture," he explained. "We also find that people go home and tell their friends about us and then we get the next set of travellers."

Competition is good for Fine Line, driving customers through the venue. Clapham High Street is a classic example, says Simon. "I don't imagine that there are people in Clapham who are exclusively Fine Line customers - being on a circuit is very beneficial. Being somewhere on your own is much harder."

Of the competition, Simon says Revolution operator Inventive Leisure, which has a bar on the same street in Clapham, does a good job, with a staff training ethic not a million miles away from that of Fuller's.

But given the success of Fine Line, is the company not tempted to roll the concept out in a big way? "The company has been criticised in the past for being too cautious but we don't see the point of doing nine great Fine Line sites and then doing 11 secondary sites that aren't that good because you end up cocking up the whole brand and selling it because it isn't successful anymore.

"We are not going to start opening a Fine Line in Southampton or Portsmouth. The brand is very aspirational, very London-based. We don't want to do 50, 60 or 100 because then you lose control of the brand."

Like any company not everything Fuller's touches turns to gold, as it found with the young person's high street brand, Broadwalk. "We found the same principles of quality, whether it be food, service or atmosphere weren't rewarded by the customer in the same way," says Simon.

In essence, the company was going to have to slash drinks prices to drive business. "Initially they (Broadwalk) were making a hell of a lot of money but quality is what this company is about, not discounting.

"If we had introduced microwaved food and dropped prices we would have been very successful but that's not what we're about."

In the City, the company took credit for realising its error quickly and quitting Broadwalk. "If anything, it made us more resolute about where we want to be," he says.

One of the advantages of the downturn is that quality sites, like the Grade II listed Counting House, will be more readily available (the Counting House has part of the Roman London Wall in its cellar).

The company is developing its Whistle & Flute wine-bar-meets-pub concept, appealing to an older audience with a focus on food. It has opened seven in 18 months and Simon would like to see another seven added in the same time period.

Unusually, Fuller's proudly puts its name above the door of every tenanted pub in big bold letters. "We have quite a good partnership with our tenants," says Simon. "I will be very interested to see what happens to a lot of tenanted estates in the next two or three years.

"You have to continually maintain high standards and I worry that some pub estates are being run solely for cash.

"Our rents go up but only when the business is good - we are trying to build long-term partnerships."

Simon is also set to continue building on a solid foundation of quality. The company may not be flying by the seat of its pants but in comparison to other family brewers, exciting times lie ahead.