Hattersley, who operates the five-strong Derbyshire-based pub, fine dining and accommodation business, also told The Morning Advertiser about ongoing projects for the former Publican Awards finalist.
He said: “I was very surprised to end up in a far worse situation than with the previous Government, it’s been out of the frying plan and into the fire.
“It’s tough in a lot of ways. Obviously, we’ve been hit with all the employer national insurance contributions while our suppliers have been hit with things like the recycling levy.
“There’s also the business rates and there’s also things like the Employment Rights bill. There are lots of questions over how we manage labour spends with the zero-hours contracts – whatever that might look like when it’s fully done, and there’s always the fear of the employment rights from day one as well because you never know how someone’s going to get on in a role and how they will perform.
“Everyone’s feeling the pinch at the moment and it’s how you are going to stand out from the crowds to be ahead of all your competitors.
“If your customers choose to spend money with you and no one else it becomes a bit of a dog eat dog scenario but all we can do is stick to our values, make sure we’ve got a great product, make sure we’re still looking after our staff and therefore I’m hopeful.”
He added that, as he felt with Covid, there are opportunities out there but hospitality businesses need to look for them by being proactive and engaged to find them.
Gov must listen
But what can the Government do to help the sector, especially with an approaching Budget?
“First and foremost, they’ve got to listen,” Hattersley said. “They’ve got to engage and listen with the sector and this is where I do not feel they are doing so. They’ve got to realise hospitality is built on the backbone of people. There’s never been great margins in the hospitality. They need to understand the sector.
“Now we can campaign and lobby for business rates and perhaps reversal of NICs all we like but what we need them to do is we need them to understand our businesses and the industry and realise we’re not a cash cow.
“The figure speaks for themselves. You look at the unemployment numbers and more than half of that has come from the hospitality industry but then you also have to look at how many pubs, bars and restaurants are closing every day and it’s unviable.
“It’s not just unviable in terms of the tax against us but it’s also things like: everyone’s entitled to a great wage and we know that, but it’s all unsustainable. We cannot keep absorbing these huge wage increases every year. If [the Government] wants to do that, it needs to be offset elsewhere.”
With Longbow Venues set to unveil its sixth site as the Charleston, in Bakewell – a 1920s-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant with live music – in early 2026, Hattersley said the number of employees is set to rise from the current 291 to 350.
Spend-per-head project
On current trade, he said: “Footfall is slightly down while, in accommodation, our revenue is up, which is great and the financial growth of the food and beverages is inflationary driven from price increases.
“We are bringing in loyalty and spend-per-head projects to really try to bolster the operation.
“Obviously, we’ve been hit with everything from the most recent Budget, which has had a big effect, but so has everyone else and now it’s a case of how do we combat this, how do we move forward from it? There’s no point being negative and dwelling on it. We’ve got to find the solutions to get out of here.”
Within the spend-per-head project, he said Longbow must think about how to make the most out of the people walking through the door, whether that be incentivising staff to sell more or work on some promotional activity to potentially get sales of extra courses when dining.
“It’s not just the sell but it’s looking at the value and the giving back to customers and some of this has been the loyalty focus we’ve just started and just rolled out last week,” he explained.
“There’s a big sense of reciprocity in that and what we really want to do is give back to the people who have supported us. It’s very easy to discount and add offers but are we better targeting that effort and giving back to the people who spend money with us already? That will drive them to be more loyal to us than they would be other venues.”
However, he is confident in the future of the sector and stated: “The hospitality industry has always been there. It’s one of the oldest industries out there and it will always continue. We will always survive and the good people will always get there.
“It’s a case of learning to pivot, being proactive, being reactive and we will get through, it’s as simple as that. It’s tough trading, but I don’t think the industry is going anywhere.”
- To read a Big Interview with Rob Hattersley, click here.
