11 Simon Townsend

chief operating officer, Enterprise Inns (11)

Why he is on the list:

Townsend has control of over 7,000 pubs, making Enterprise the country's second -biggest pub company. He joined in 1999 and is tipped to eventually replace chief executive Ted Tuppen.

What the past year has held:

Townsend has been in his present post two years which, in growth terms, has been a relatively quiet period. Last year there saw no big pub acquisitions, with Enterprise now content to cherry-pick the best units that come onto the market while continuing to dispose of bottom-end strugglers. He has overseen a pretty sizeable ramping-up of support for Enterprise licensees, with a doubling to 800 of the number receiving support in the first half of its financial year. There's also been a move to reduce industry capacity, with the 100 or so pubs it is selling going to alternative use.

Challenges ahead:

Enterprise reports that 73% of its licensees are trading in line or ahead of last year, but an increasing number of tenants and lessees are struggling, thanks to soaring overhead and utility charges, the trade downturn and a drop in consumer spending. Enterprise has shouldered its share of the pain so far and will hope the worst is now over as it moves towards the first anniversary of the ban.