A little TLC revives the Henny Swan’s fortunes

It had been closed for a year, not smelt success for more than a decade, was smaller than any site we had ever considered and was in a village that had fewer than 100 residents.

I am never one to run from a challenge and with three successful tied super-sites, hard work and hard cash would see the Henny Swan bought by TLC within 21 days, and opening as summer ebbed away. As a very harsh winter began the next 12 months would be a valuable learning curve.

Super-sites react well to marketing, but this is not the case with village/destination venues. Word of mouth is key, so standards are vital from the food you serve to the welcome you provide to the cleanliness of your loos; it’s simple, but so often forgotten.

Choosing the right people to front the business is immensely important. Lee and Sian were the key for us; great people skills and fabulous at connecting with the community.

So, plain sailing? Not a chance. This project tested everyone’s ability; many changes were needed. Bridges needed to be built as the community had been let down many times before.

With the TLC ethos in place and stability, consistency and trust growing, things gradually started to build. With sponsorship of the local church and cricket team, and the first village fair in 22 years, the Henny Swan is now loved and patronised and is firmly back at the centre of village life.

Tough times have transformed to good and profitable times. August has seen sales grow to £17k per week and the asset has been valued at £500k more than we paid (and that was by the bank).

So is there life in the village pub? You bet there is. With hard work and a bucket load of TLC many more pubs will flourish well into the future.

Now we’ve proved they can be great businesses, is that it? No chance. Our second village pub opened six weeks ago and is trading above expectations and many more are due to follow!