Step 1
Application Form
You’ve identified a pub you’d like to operate with Greene King, to progress with this you will be required to complete an online application form, which you can access online by clicking here.
BECOMING A PARTNER
A guide to becoming a Greene King Pub Partner
A step-by-step guide to becoming a Greene King Pub Partner.
What to expect during the entry process
At Greene King we believe that our Pub Partners are successful entrepreneurs at the heart of a successful pub business. It’s important for us that we have the right partner, in the right pub, with the right agreement and right pub offering.
We’re a business that is regulated by the Pubs Code, and so there are some important steps that need to be taken before we can give you the keys to a Greene King pub.
This document sets out the key steps to becoming a Greene King Pub Partner.
Step 2
Recruitment Team Discussion
On receipt of your application form, our Recruitment Team will call you to discuss your application and will assess your suitability before moving to the next step
Step 3
General Interview
With your suitability confirmed, you’ll be invited to attend a General Interview where you’ll meet one of our Business Development Managers. The purpose of this meeting is for us to tell you more about Greene King Pub Partners and what it means to be a Pub Partner with us. This also gives us the chance to find out more about you and to understand your intentions in more detail to operate one of our pubs.
Step 4
Sustainable Business Plan Preparation
Once your intentions are clear, a more formal meeting will be arranged to discuss the pub and how you will be looking to operate it. This is known as the Pub Specific Interview.
Before this meeting can take place, you will be required to submit to us a ‘Sustainable Business Plan’.
To help you in the preparation of your Sustainable Business Plan, our Recruitment Team will supply you with all the information you need about the particular pub you are interested in and a specimen copy of the agreement. Under the Pubs Code, this is known as the Schedule 1 information. Ordinarily this information will be emailed to you. We’ll also provide you with a business plan template to assist you.
What do I do with the Schedule 1 info?
What is meant by a Sustainable Business Plan?
Step 5
Pub Specific Interview
You will attend the Pub Specific Interview, where your plans will be discussed in more detail and your business plan reviewed by our Business Development Manager. We will want to ensure that your plans are realistic and that your business plan is sustainable.
At this meeting you will also be required to provide your proof of identity, proof of funding and a British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) Pre-Entry Awareness Training certificate.
You’ll receive an interview checklist once this meeting is completed, which will confirm the items our Business Development Manager has discussed with you.
Need to know what (BII) Pre-Entry Awareness Training is? OR what other training you might need?
Step 6
Final Approval Meeting
Following the Pub Specific Interview, we will gain your consent to conduct credit checks. Subject to the credit checks, you will be invited to a Final Approval Meeting with a senior member of our Operations Team. They will further verify your business plan and confirm in principle your appointment at the pub.
Step 7
Agreement Documentation Offer Pack
We'll send you an Agreement Documentation Offer Pack which will include your Heads of Terms outlining the principal terms of your agreement including the nature, scope and extent of your obligations.
If you are entering a Tenancy agreement, you can expect to receive a prepared agreement in readiness for your signature. Lease agreements will be prepared by our solicitors and sent to you or your solicitor for completion
Step 8
Pre-Agreement meeting
Before you sign your agreement documentation and fully commit yourself and prior to moving into the pub, a Pre-Agreement Meeting will be arranged. It is at this meeting that our Business Development Manager will undertake a final check with you to ensure that you have a clear understanding of all aspects of the Agreement, our and your responsibilities, the Pubs Code and all other terms of trading with us.
Step 9
The Big Day!
Known as the Change Day, this will be the day we handover the keys to your new pub business and you move in.
This will be a busy day, however our Business Development Manager will be on hand to assist you with any queries. Be sure to read our Guide to Moving In as this will provide you with a handy checklist ensuring you’ve got key areas and actions covered prior to taking on your Greene King Pub Partners pub.
Important information
A ‘Sustainable Business Plan’ is defined in the Pubs Code (under regulation 10) as a business plan which:
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Has been prepared in consideration of independent professional advice, such as legal, financial, property and rental valuation advice.
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Includes financial forecasts for a minimum of five years including:
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(a) Estimates of income and expenditure;
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(b) A Sensitivity Analysis;
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(c) The impact of any indexation on the Rent.
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Contains a forecast of the income and net profit for a minimum of five years, and is in our opinion, reasonable and realistic for you to achieve.
It is important that you read and review the information we supply to you as this will contain all you need to know about the pub and the obligations placed on you when operating a pub.
You’ll need to share the information we supply to you with your suitably qualified independent professional advisors as you’ll need to consider their advice in the preparation of your ‘Sustainable Business Plan’.
We will ask you to confirm your understanding of the information we provide you.
It is important to ensure you are fully aware of the legal and financial obligations placed on you when entering into a Tied Agreement with us. You must take independent professional advice, such as legal and financial advice, from suitably qualified advisors, to ensure you are making the right choice when choosing to operate one of our pubs.
When selecting an advisor to support you, we would encourage you to check that they hold professional indemnity insurance and that they are accredited by an appropriate professional association, such as The Law Society, RICS, IFA or CIMA, which you can rely on if something goes wrong. You can also seek a professional advisor through the BII Independent Professional Advisor panel.
We will require you to provide us with evidence from your advisors, such as a letter, confirming that you have taken appropriate advice which has been considered in the preparation of your Sustainable Business Plan.
It is important you conduct a full inspection of the pub including the private accommodation. You need to be aware of the ‘nooks and crannies’ of the pub
to understand what impact this may have on your Sustainable Business Plan, particularly if your agreement has fully repairing obligations. You will need to
allow for this in your finances. We strongly recommend you seek advice from an independent professional property surveyor to assist you with this. For more
information on property inspections please see our Guide to Running a Pub, section 3.2.
BII PEAT is an online training module that provides you with an overview of the obligations placed on you when entering into a tenancy or lease agreement in the UK.
You will be required to complete the online BII Pre-Entry Awareness Training if you haven’t already. As evidence of completion, we will require you to provide us with a copy of the certificate you receive at the end of the online training module.
There are certain circumstances where you may be exempt from completing this training. If this is the case, we will require you to sign an Exemption Agreement, which will be provided with the Agreement Documentation Offer Pack.
Whether you are new to the pub industry or have been running a pub for years, we expect you to attend Greene King’s Welcome Induction Programme. This is an important programme as it introduces you to Greene King Pub Partners ways of working and will cover all you need to know about turning your vision into reality. At the training you will also meet various Greene King Pub Partners business experts that you may look to rely on during your partnership with us.