Publican Award winner steps up recruitment campaign, Beaverworld creates 150 jobs, Boxpark hires Bishop

Inn Collection Group to create more than 200 new jobs 

Northern operator The Inn Collection Group is rolling out its INNtelligent recruitment campaign across the group’s 13 pubs with rooms in Northumberland, County Durham, Yorkshire and the Lake District – including more than 200 full and part-time positions in Cumbria alone. 

The group has invested more than £100,000 in free, online training for its workforce including a bespoke app guides staff from initial induction to core modules such as food hygiene and customer service, up to management level. 

Now, the current holder of The Publican Awards’ Best Pub Employer of up to 500 employees award is focusing on flexible working hours and a raft of employee benefits, online training, bonuses and family and friends’ discount, as it looks to step up its recruitment plans.

“Our INNtelligent campaign is all about building a happy, skilled team across our inns,” managing director Sean Donkin said. “We want to dispel the old school mentality that jobs in hospitality equate to long, unsociable hours, working every weekend and low rates of pay.  

“The Inn Collection Group is a vibrant, company experiencing exceptional growth. We offer wide-ranging and flexible career opportunities, rather than taking a one-size fits all approach.

“INNtelligent recognises people are individuals with differing needs and requirements when it comes to work. 

“We have people who prefer to work at weekends or evenings because they’re students, or they simply enjoy the buzz and atmosphere, while working parents often opt for day- time shifts. 

“We are offering people more flexibility with full and part-time positions in roles ranging from chefs and kitchen opportunities through to housekeeping, maintenance and front of house. It’s all about working with people to find solutions that are a fit for everyone.”

Boxpark hires Bishop to oversee expansion plans

Retail, casual dining and leisure outlet Boxpark has announced the appointment of Simon Bishop as its property director to help drive the next five-year phase of the company’s development.

With more than 25 years’ experience in leisure acquisitions for restaurants, pubs, hotels, and casinos, Bishop will help Boxpark work towards lofty pre-lockdown ambitions to open 10 new sites over the next five years in major UK cities under a rolling acquisitions strategy. 

“Despite closing our sites for over 12 weeks, we’ve tried to maintain a positive outlook by realising our key strengths as a business and future prospects,” Roger Wade, CEO and founder of Boxpark said of Bishop’s appointment. “Luckily for us, we’ve had a great bounce back; since reopening our site footfall and like-for-like sales have surpassed our expectations, but there’s no time to stand still. 

“Opportunities arise from every situation and are delighted to bring Simon on board to identify the best options for our new site concepts, so that we can continue to deliver fantastic sites and experiences. We are more focused than ever on our growth strategy and we think Simon holds the perfect skill set and experience to help us reach our ambitions.”

Commenting on his new role, Bishop added: “It’s an exciting time to join Boxpark as it makes a strong comeback following the pandemic. My experience in the hospitality and leisure sectors lends itself well to Boxpark’s expansion plans and there are loads of opportunities ahead for us. 

“I think Boxpark is a brilliant brand with huge potential - over the last decade, it has continued to evolve fearlessly and is now one of the biggest food and entertainment hubs in London. I’m looking forward to delivering sites over the next years and playing my role in bringing the Boxpark vision to life.”

Oakman Inns to receive royal accolade

As previously reported by The Morning Advertiser (MA)​, multiple operator Oakman Inns will be presented with an annual Princess Royal Training Award​ in November.

Oakman will be one of 43 recipients from 39 organisations to be given the award recognising UK companies that have created “outstanding training and development programmes which have made a direct and provable impact on their employer’s business performance”.

This is the second time the south-east based operator has been recognised for its training programme in the award’s five-year history.

Oakman Inns CEO Dermot King said: “We are delighted to be recognised by the Princess Royal Training Awards for a second time for our company’s training and development programme.

“We are in the hospitality business and our 28 town centre and country pub rely on our teams to be enthusiastic in their work and enthused by the standards of service we are consistently striving to achieve for our guests."

Katherine Smart named first female renter warden of the Worshipful Company of Brewers 

Guinness owner Diageo’s global technical director, Katherine Smart, has become the first woman to be appointed renter warden of the Worshipful Company of Brewers. 

Smart first joined in the Worshipful Company of Brewers as a liveryman brewer in 2014, becoming the first female member of court – the equivalent to the company’s board – in 2018. 

As renter warden – one of the company’s most senior positions – Smart, the master and other wardens will be responsible for oversight of the Company’s operations including its charity work.

“I’m thrilled to have been elected Renter Warden for the Worshipful Company of Brewers – an organisation playing a crucial role connecting brewers across the industry, and supporting valuable research and educational work,” Smart said. 

“Brewing has historically been very male dominated, and when I started my career, I’d often be the only woman in the room at industry events. Today it is wonderful to see so many women entering the industry, building thriving careers and shaping the future of brewing." 

Based in Diageo’s international supply centre in Menstrie, Scotland, Smart – who holds a PhD in Fermentation and Brewing Science and a DSc in Brewing and Distilling Sciences – currently leads Diageo’s global technical function with responsibility for innovation, research and liquid development, packaging and governance.

Also a lecturer in Brewing and Distilling at the University of Cambridge, professor of the University of Nottingham, rectifier of the Gin Guild and a liveryman distiller of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, Smart was President of the Institute of Brewing and Distilling between 2016 and 2018 – where she was only the second woman to hold the role.

‘Beaverworld’ to create 150 new jobs

Billed as Beavertown Brewery’s “forever home”, the creator of Neck Oil and Gamma Ray has unveiled Beaverworld - a new facility described as "London's largest brewery" in Ponders End, Enfield.

The new site will generate 150 jobs in the North London area and deliver 90,000,000 pints per year – a tenfold increase.

The expansion comes after Heineken purchased a minority stake in Beavertown in 2018​​ and earmarked £40m to fund its new home.

“Beaverworld has been a long time in the making and we’re thrilled that we’ve now started brewing on site in Enfield,” Beavertown founder Logan Plant​​ said. 

“We’re confident that with Beaverworld, we have created a quality-driven brewery with passion and love for the craft at its core. Beaverworld is the answer to our dream of getting more Beavertown in the hands of the masses and we could not be more excited that it’s now up and running. 

“With Beaverworld we’re expecting to create our own lasting-legacy.”