Stephen Goodyear: overseer of change

Five years ago Young's closed its brewery in Wandsworth and embarked on a new era. Chief executive Stephen Goodyear talks to Phil Mellows about a life less Ordinary.

You get an interesting choice of cask beers at the Ship in Wandsworth these days, from the new wave of national brands like Black Sheep and Sharp's Doom Bar to ales from the local microbrewery, Sambrook's. Stephen Goodyear and I, though, are both drinking the Ordinary.

There's something uplifting and comforting about the fact you can still go into a Young's pub, as I did in my youth, and ask for a pint of Ordinary, the name Young's drinkers themselves gave to the regular bitter to distinguish it from Special. A marketer would never come up with that.

The joke is, of course, that there's nothing ordinary about Ordinary.

It's a distinctive pint, unmistakably Young's. And most remarkably, against all the competition at the Ship, it's the pub's best-seller.

Goodyear seems more pleased, and relieved, about this than anything. As chief executive of Young's he oversaw the closure of the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, the home of Ordinary, and the transfer of production to the Charles Wells brewery in Bedford under a new joint venture, Wells & Young's.

Goodyear, not normally the kind of chap to worry, admits they were nervous times.

Five years later everything seems to have turned out nicely, not just for the beer but for the 250-strong pub estate, which was recently bolstered by the acquisition of Geronimo Inns.

Geronimo​

The 26 Geronimos, plus a couple of new ones just coming on stream, continue to be run by the chain's founders, Rupert and Jo Clevely.

But you sense the new blood has given the whole company an injection of energy.

"It's been very exciting since Geronimo arrived," says Goodyear. "There was a bit of 'what next?' hanging about the place before that.

"The integration has gone really well. We bought Geronimo because it's Geronimo and it has very well-run, great pubs. If we interfere with that it loses its magic. Rupert talks about the Geronimo DNA and it's important we don't mess with that."

If pubcos really have DNAs, perhaps Young's is not too many genes apart. Goodyear believes the company has an "essence".

"We've always been slightly quirky, and I hope that through all the changes we've retained that. I think that's why Rupert chose to come with Young's. It was a good fit for them."

Midlife crisis​

There is a kind of chemistry in these things. When Goodyear joined Young's 16 years ago he had to click with its legendary chairman John Young.

"Before that my whole career had been with Courage. It was a fantastic company with wonderful training. I must have learned every trade discipline there is.

"It's funny that Wells & Young's is now brewing Courage Best. I was there at the launch!"

The Young's job came out of the blue. "Somebody rang me, a headhunter. I was 40 so perhaps I was having a midlife crisis.

"I missed working in London, too, and I was ready for another role.

"I only knew Young's by reputation, but I joined the board the following January so we must have got on with each other.

"I had a good teacher in John Young. He was someone who spoke his mind, but he was a great bloke."

Goodyear was given responsibility for selling and marketing the beers.

"There was an awful lot of work

that we had to do on the Young's brand," he remembers.

"In those days sales were split 70% through the tied estate and 30% through the freetrade. By the time we stopped brewing, though, it was the other way round.

"We got the beer flowing. You've got to develop the freetrade if you want to keep brewing."

Brewery sale​

Eventually, Young's stopped brewing operations in Wandsworth, of course, and Goodyear inevitably succumbs to nostalgia.

"The brewery was a romantic place and I'd always been around beer and brewers. But it was old and labour intensive. We had half a dozen options and the deal with Charles Wells made most sense."

Young's has a 40% share of Wells & Young's, and Goodyear sits on the stakeholder board, giving valuable feedback on the brands' performance in pubs.

"Paul and I get on like a house on fire," he says, referring to Wells managing director Paul Wells.

But one of the advantages of the deal is that it has allowed Young's to focus on its pubs. Among other things that has meant developing the food and accommodation side of the business.

"We're getting better at food and building a reputation, but it's a reputation that keeps the integrity of our pubs. When the food mix gets above 30% you're bashing into plates of grub all the time."

The Geronimo pubs won't alter that. "They are very similar to Young's. They have a higher mix of food overall but, take out the three concession pubs at Heathrow Airport, and it's identical."

Young's hotels, which have been rebadged under the Sleeping Ram logo, now offer a total of 370 rooms and counting.

"If we can develop rooms, we do so, we're looking to maximise the opportunity. But there's also a critical mass that works. You need at least 10 rooms on a site to get recognition you need from the public."

Fair deal​

In common with other mixed estates, the 99-pub tenanted division lags behind the managed, though Goodyear claims it has "the biggest EBITDA in the industry".

"I believe in the model, but it needs growth to work. We're doing a lot of work on our tenanted sites and we believe in a fair deal for our tenants.

"Since the economic downturn we've put together packages for certain tenants, mainly comprising discounts, but we've also paid for refurbishments, injected capital and upped our repair spend.

"In some cases we've taken pubs into management.

"We'd quite like to be left with a core of tenancies that work for us, run by good people.

"And we're seeing quite an improvement in the quality of people coming to us for a pub.

"But our main focus is managed houses in central London. We're at the premium end of the market, so that's where our future is.

"People have less money to spend at the moment, so when they do go out they want good service, a good atmosphere and great food. There's a real opportunity for good-quality pub chains — and that's why pubs like the Ship are so busy. The numbers here are fantastic."

Goodyear wants to develop the estate in terms of both numbers and standards — though he won't be drawn on whether there's another Geronimo in the pipeline.

"We're always looking, and we do want to expand the managed division. We're always trying to raise the bar. We're relatively self-critical and always feel like we could be doing better.

"We do pretty well for managers. We've got good recruitment and training and the talent is there.

"We're working with some really good people, we look after them well. I like to get around the pubs.

"They work so hard, our licensees. It's a difficult and tiring profession and we have to be seen to be supporting them.

"I've enjoyed every minute of the past 16 years. They are very good people at Young's," Goodyear adds.

Nagging irritation​

There's just one nagging irritation for him though. The Ram Brewery, which is just up the road, remains in a derelict state.

Despite all that talk about it being an irresistible development site two successive governments have blocked planning permission.

"At least they can't blame me for that," he says.

Our kind of pub​

"The Ship is a wonderful pub. It's got everything you could want. Great food, a good choice of beers, atmosphere, a great outdoor area and barbecues.

"I've got a few favourites on our estate, though. A different one for each occasion."