Northern Star

Stephen Magorrian's office sits just next to the River Lagan, the de facto border of County Down and County Antrim, right in the very heart of Belfast.

So does he suffer from any split loyalties? "I'm a Down man, myself. We're much nicer people!" he jokes. And in much the same way as he is sure of his cultural identity, he is equally sure of the cultural identity of his company Botanic Inns.

Botanic is a major success story, not only in Belfast, but increasingly across Northern Ireland. Its success spread across the Irish Sea earlier this year when the company, which currently has 13 outlets - a mix of bar-restaurants, style bars and hotels, was named multiple operator of the year at the Publican Awards.

And, according to Magorrian, the company may be making a more permanent foray into Britain in the not too distant future.

Botanic beginnings

Magorrian started out in the very corporate world of Diageo - coming from an accountancy background he ended up as sales director of Guinness Northern Ireland. However, when Diageo decided to merge its north and south operations, Stephen took voluntary redundancy.

Looking to take his career in a different direction he ended up going to work for Jas Mooney, the owner of fledgling pub company Botanic Inns. He joined the company in full knowledge that Mooney would end up selling the company (Mooney currently resides in Australia and is still in contact with Magorrian) and that he would eventually take over.

"Our styles are very different and the company is now very different to when Jas was running it," he adds.

He doesn't go into too many specifics, but one senses with his accountant's background Magorrian runs a tighter ship than the more flamboyant Mooney.

He is certainly very pleased with the company's current performance. Turnover for the 12 months up to the end of May 2008 topped out at £22m - that's up from £19.5m 12 months ago. He says: "We have had a great year. We have done everything we said we were going to do."

Indeed, rumours are circulating that Botanic is currently in the process of acquiring another large outlet in Northern Ireland.

For Magorrian the key to continuing this success is to concentrate wholly on improving the experience for the pub-goer. He is concerned by the cultural change taking place among his customer base. "The dynamic is interesting now," he says. "The weeks and weekends are getting shorter - people are going out later and not staying out as long. It is a cultural shift."

Growing pains

So does he believe the company should look to grow its outlet numbers and diversify its approach - perhaps by getting into leasing out pubs and trying to encourage more entrepreneurial people into the business?

He is not dead set against the idea but has serious concerns about the growth in the number of leases in the Northern Irish market in recent years.

"About 12 years ago there was very little leasing going on - now there is much more. And I have to say I don't think that is a great thing," he admits.

"For years brewers wouldn't support lease arrangements - and that was because when times get tough people have trouble keeping up. And then the retail standards start to drop."

It is this theme of retail standards that recurs throughout our conversation - that and hospitality, the key word in Magorrian's professional make-up. Time and again he comes back to it - in his eyes it is the secret to success.

"The key to everything is to create the right customer experience. If you do that people will gladly eat your food and order more drinks," he says.

"Hospitality is the absolute key. Service is the technical delivery of your products - but hospitality for me is the way that you make people feel when they are in your outlets and when you serve them."

He says the company has now changed its recruitment policy, with the exception of some roles within his pubs and restaurant kitchens. Where before Botanic looked for experience, it now simply wants proof of a great attitude - one that will shine among customers. "We have faith we can then give these people the right skills," Magorrian adds.

As alluded to earlier, the managing director has ambitious plans for the business. "The vision is to be the number one provider of the hospitality experience in our world. We want to learn from everybody. That is why we enter awards - to learn, not necessarily to win," he explains.

"We would like to grow the number of outlets we have. Last year we opened venues outside of Belfast for the first time, and we might well go outside of Northern Ireland at some point too. We have looked at London a bit. It is not a definite plan but it could happen in the long term."