Shepherd Neame to target food operation of 60 tenanted pubs a year

Of 310 pubs in the estate, 275 already have a food offer to some extent. New food development chef for the tenanted division Carol Haime works on around 10 pubs at a time, developing bespoke menus for each. Though some sites are achieving a 50:50 split, it is closer to 70% wet-led across the estate.

Haime has developed a brochure documenting the main pub dishes and cutlery and condiment displays to inspire the tenants.

"I am helping them introduce the right dishes," she said. "We look at everything from the food to themed evenings, and marketing is a big part of it too. We’re trying to have a varied range of potential costings and models so the tenants can choose. We don’t want to run branded pubs so it’s about bringing out individual traits."

Tenanted operations manager Greg Wallis added: "We are trying to support our tenants in a flexible way. We are investing heavily in the tenanted side, with 26 development schemes undertaken in the last financial year."