BDM of the year: Making it his business

By Matt Eley Matt

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Punch taverns Public house

While much of the talk following the Business and Enterprise Committee (BEC) report into pub companies has focused on the beer tie, other areas of...

While much of the talk following the Business and Enterprise Committee (BEC) report into pub companies has focused on the beer tie, other areas of the model also came in for harsh criticism.

Business development managers (BDMs), or whatever title individual companies choose to go for, didn't escape the wrath of MPs, with the report stating that there are "too many BDMs who offer lessees little or no support, and some who bully or intimidate them".

Tough words indeed. And it didn't stop there, with the performance of BDMs being described as ranging from "excellent to dire".

One man who should comfortably be at the former end of that scale is Punch Taverns' Jim Owthwaite, who picked up the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) BDM of the Year title in September.

So why does he think BDMs find themselves on the receiving end of such harsh words from MPs and licensees alike?

He believes that while criticisms may be justified, much has been done to improve relationships between BDMs and licensees.

"There might have been times when people were being treated as a commodity rather than a person, but I have never seen that at all since I joined Punch," he says. "I have never seen behaviour that lacked integrity. Tough business decisions have to be made, but nothing where you couldn't look yourself in the mirror and say that was unfair."

The Publican joined Owthwaite on his patch in West Yorkshire, which comprises 47 pubs in places such as Bradford and Skipton.

His home is also in the area, and he is keen to make sure the pubs have the highest possible standards. He is now confident enough to recommend the "vast majority" of his stable to friends and family.

"When I put someone in a pub I am responsible, and if they don't do well I feel it," he says. "I am the landlord for 47 pubs. My job is to maximise the trade in the business for both Punch and the business partner. The business is not about us and them, which is how it might have been perceived in the past. It is about us working together to make it the best we can."

This could mean anything from a simple thing such as telling a licensee their coffee could be warmer, to large financial investments in pubs.

One of his innovations is holding workshops where he invites all the licensees from his patch to a pub to discuss ideas - though talk of rent and beer prices is strictly off the agenda.

It is clear Owthwaite is passionate about helping the pubs succeed and this, in part at least, derives from his own experiences of running a business.

After graduating with a politics and social policy degree he started as a BDM with Whitbread and worked in the Brewers Fayre and Costa divisions.

In 2006 he left the trade to take on a franchise with Home Farm Foods, providing frozen meals to the elderly. The business was a success and Owthwaite was eventually bought out by a partner, leading to his return to the industry with Punch in April 2008.

What stayed with him were the lessons he learned from being his own boss.

"I really empathise and respect what these people have done in investing their own cash and putting a lot on the line in terms of running their own business," he says. "It is hard and you have to be a certain type of person to make it work.

"I hope what the ALMR saw was my belief that the relationship between BRM (Punch prefers the term 'relationship' to 'development') is a real partnership of equals, not a paternalistic partnership."

But he admits that, as with most partnerships of equals, there are times when those involved find themselves in disagreement.

"In this climate this is an incredibly difficult job," he says. "We have people who are not earning the money they want to earn and their biggest outgoing is their rent, which can create a certain degree of tension. If people are unhappy with their terms and conditions and the economic climate we are naturally the person they will talk to.

"I have not got an issue with that but it doesn't make the job any easier."

But in the same way that licensees are facing up to the challenges of the current climate, so too is Owthwaite.

"The job is great but not every day is fantastic, because you are dealing with some tough issues at the moment, but there are more good days than bad," he says. A sentiment that many licensees no doubt share.

Views from the pubs

We spoke to three of Jim Owthwaite's licensees in West Yorkshire to get their views on BDMs

Jas Bhatt is licensee of the Boat House in Saltaire. He has always worked in pubs and is the freeholder of the only other pub in Saltaire - Don't Tell Titus.

The Boat House was closed for more than a year after being hit by fire twice. It was re-opened in August after a £500,000 investment by Jas and Punch Taverns. Jas says: "I have been in the trade all my life but this is my first lease, so it is a new relationship for me. It takes time to build that relationship but I had a vision of what I wanted to

do with the place. You need support and it is nice |to have someone on your side."

Jan Grainger is licensee at the Prune Park Inn in Allerton.

The pub is licensee Janet and her partner Nigel's first lease after managing another Punch pub for a year.

She says: "In the run-up to opening we have seen a lot of Jim. He as helped us with things such as cashflow forecasts and business plans. We feel confident that we have every chance of success."

Roger Bell is a multiple operator with 20 pubs on leases with Punch Taverns across the North West, including community pub the Great Northern, in Thackley.

Roger says: "I have dealt with a lot of BDMs and, like anything in life, you get different levels of people. Some are very good and some have lots of learning to do.

"It has been a problem having different BDMs all the time but now I deal just with Jim and we have a good relationship.

"He will stand back and ask: "Is this the right thing to do?".

"What some BDMs can't seem to get right is that we are not managers for the company, but we are our own businesses."

Related topics Training

Property of the week

Follow us

Pub Trade Guides

View more