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By Matt Furnell, 25/01/2012 9:46 am

Old English Inns up and down the country will be serving up award winning fish and chips from now on after winning the Best Foodservice Outlet Serving Fish and Chips at the National Fish & Chips Awards 2012 this week. 
 
The hotel and restaurant chain’s fish and chips is its biggest selling dish and they expect sales to swell following the recognition.
 
Speaking about their success, managing director for Old English Inns, Jonathan Webster said, “This is a fantastic accolade for us.  Fish and Chips are as much a British Institution as real ale, pubs and country inns are, so now our customers know they’ll get the best fish and chips along with our award winning ales in great pubs and inns up and down the country.  A perfect combination”.
 
Old English Inn’s who have 100 inns throughout England beat off competition from Marston’s pub company who were also finalists in the same category.

Find out more about Old English Inns

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By Matt Furnell, 24/01/2012 3:18 pm

 NatWest has become the official funding partner for Greene King Meet & Eat Pub Franchises.

Franchisees looking to take a Meet & Eat franchise can approach NatWest and receive preferential borrowing rates to support the franchise opportunity.

Speaking about the funding partnership, Simon Longbottom, managing director for Greene King Meet & Eat franchises said, “NatWest has been involved with the franchise sector for 30 years so by linking up with them and their franchise fund, franchisees looking at our business opportunities have easier access to secure funding for their plans.

“We’re seeing our Meet & Eat franchise pubs bucking the trend in terms of expected returns and annual income for the pubs. Currently the return on investment is 45% on an expected investment of £100,000 allowing a franchisee to typically expect a projected annual income of £45k per year. So this partnership with NatWest makes real sense in helping us develop the right package for franchisees going forward”.

Mark Scott, NatWest, Director, Franchise Development said, “I have been working closely with Greene King since the launch of the franchise and am pleased to offer Greene King Meet & Eat franchisees the banking services they need to fulfil their ambitions. Every franchisee taking over a Meet & Eat franchise will be supported by a specialist bank manager whose experience in the franchise sector will help them get off to the best possible start”.

Greene King is rolling out Meet & Eat franchises across the country. The NatWest Franchise Fund is endorsed by the British Franchise Association (BFA) and the Greene King Meet & Eat franchise received British Franchise Association accreditation earlier this year.

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By Matt Furnell, 12/12/2011 2:53 pm

Greene King has today launched a new Greene King Meet & Eat website where customers can look up where their nearest Meet & Eat pub is.  The new website, www.greenekingmeetandeat.co.uk can be accessed from a desktop pc as well as a mobile phone.  Whilst on the move consumers can view pubs near them, check out the entertainment, register for offers and also have a look at new Meet & Eat franchise business opportunities too.

Speaking about the new site, managing director for Greene King’s Meet & Eat franchise pubs, Simon Longbottom said, “This website will provide consumers, who are getting to know and love Meet & Eat pubs, where they can locate one.  The menu and offer is consistent across the Meet & Eat estate so they’ll be guaranteed excellent service every time.  As the numbers grow we’ll add more and more pubs onto the site which all have their own individual webpage links”.

The new site features an easy map to view where Meet & Eat pubs can be found with links to the individual pubs showing menus, events and offers.  On accessing each pub, customers can find directions to the pub from where they are.

Greene King Meet & Eat has opened 24 Meet & Eat pubs in England in the last year and will be developing more across the country in the coming months. Meet & Eat franchise opportunities can be found on www.greenekingpubsfranchise.co.uk.

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By Matt Furnell,

Greene King Pub Partners licensees are being kept up to date on all business building activities and opportunities with a new bi-monthly magazine called Innsight.  Launched in both print and as an electronic version, licensees are encouraged to take advantage of the deals and support pulled together by Pub Partners to help them drive their business.

The new Innsight magazine profiles new tools on PubPartners.net to help licensees, offers seasonal promotions and big deals on products and real ales, creates ideas to maximise key events and dates and provides advice from the KnowHow online tool. It aims to focus licensees on what’s available and simplify the ways they can gain access to support and promotions for their retail offer, saving them time and money in the process.

Simon Longbottom, managing director of Greene King Pub Partners said, “We have a wealth of expertise to help licensees grow and develop their businesses and it’s important that we continue to offer them an insight into how they can do this, improving their time management and making things as simple as possible.  Our new publication delivers that in one place, easily and effectively”.

The Innsight magazine is delivered in print and available online for all Pub Partners licensees and is issued on a bi-monthly basis.  This month licensees are encouraged to take advantage of the great product deals and create their own January sales as well profiling their promotions using the correx boards on offer to them.

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By Matt Furnell,

Dave Root must be the longest serving drinker of Greene King IPA with an estimated 100,000 pints to his name, so on his 93^rd birthday he has been recognised by his local landlord Wayne Evans and brewer Greene King for his fantastic loyalty.

Drinking Greene King IPA in the Royal Oak in Halstead since the tender age of 18 he was presented with an engraved tankard from Greene King so he can enjoy his favourite tipple for a long time to come.

Landlord of the Greene King pub, the Royal Oak, Wayne Evans said, “Dave really is part of the furniture.  He arrives every day and enjoys his favourite brew and we thought his loyalty to the drink and the pub needed to be recognised and to do just that on his birthday.  It’s great to have him as a customer and certainly keeps my cask ales sales up”.

Business development manager for Greene King, Geoff Liyanage said, “Greene King wanted to say a big thanks to Dave for drinking and enjoying our beer and pubs for so many years.  He knows a decent pint when he sees one and a good pub and this was just a way of sending our gratitude”.

Dave who not only received an engraved tankard was also given a few bottles of Greene King IPA to enjoy at home and a pint or two to have in the pub. He said of the presentation, “This is just wonderful, I’m overwhelmed. I never thought you could receive recognition for just enjoying a pint!”.

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By Matt Furnell,

Greene King Meet & Eat franchise pubs have had a new menu cooked up for them ready for Christmas and the winter season.  The Meet & Eat franchise pub chain enables franchisees to offer great portions on food and excellent value for money served every day from 12 – 9 pm. 

Speaking about the new menu, managing director for Greene King Meet & Eat pubs, Simon Longbottom said, “Meet & Eat pubs offer fantastic value for customers in bright and modern surroundings.  Our franchisees are able to access this unique menu and deliver it with ease, very quickly.  All dishes are created in our own development kitchens and food is sourced at the best prices through Greene King’s extensive buying power”.

The new brighter looking menu has some exciting seasonal favourites and great offers to complement the existing pub classics and big grills.  Also featured are meal deals everyday including Monday and Tuesday burger and drink or 8oz rump steak and a drink, £4.99; curry and drink Thursday at £4.99 and all day Friday – two classic fish and chips only £6.99.  Sunday offers all day Sunday roast with unlimited veg, gravy and roast potatoes for only £4.99.

 Greene King Meet & Eat has opened 24 franchise pubs in the last year and has three more going on site for full refurbishment in December.  The benefits of the Meet & Eat franchise can be found on www.greenekingpubsfranchise.co.uk.

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By Matt Furnell, 14/07/2011 9:07 am

Running through the town centre with a decorated pram, stopping for a swift half at each pub along the way, is not the usual way to spend a Sunday afternoon. But for one day each year, the Kimberley Pram Race sees residents of the Nottinghamshire town do just that, all in the name of charity.

On Sunday (10 July) 35 runners took part in the annual tradition to raise money for Help For Heroes.  And to fuel the fancy dress mad dash, five Greene King pubs supplied free Carling for the runners as they raced to the finish line, competing for the title of ‘best dressed pram’.

The race, which raises at least £1000 annually, has been going since 1973 and in recent years has been supported by Greene King, with free beer for the competitors at each of their five pubs along the route, which are The Lord Clyde, The Gate Inn, The Queens Head. The Cricketers Rest, The Nelson and the Railway Inn.

This year Greene King also provided a curtain-sided lorry as a stage for local musicians who entertained the crowds throughout the afternoon.

Event organiser Ian Campbell said the pram race brings the whole of Kimberley together and Greene King’s support is invaluable to the event.

“Without the beer there is no pram race. We appreciate the support of Greene King and the pubs who kindly serve the competitors. It’s an important charity event, with all the money raised coming solely from street collections on the day. This year, all funds raised will go to Help For Heroes.”

 Rick Nicholls, business development manager for Greene King, said: “All the pubs involved get into the spirit of the day and we’re glad to support such a popular event. The pram race is always one of the busiest trading days for pubs in Kimberley, which goes to show what a community event it really is.”

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By Matt Furnell,

Greene King Pub Partners has won the award for Tenant Track Pub Company of the year, it was revealed at the Tenanted Pub Company Summit on Wednesday 28 June. Greene King won the accolade after receiving high scores from 100 of its licensees, as part of research carried out by him! research & consulting.

Five hundred tenants working with the country’s top pub companies were surveyed for their opinions on factors such as advice provided to help tenants grow sales, training, fairness of the contractual agreement, promotions, and website.

Tom Fender, Managing Director of him! research & consulting, presented the key findings from the Tenant Track programme at the recent Tenanted Pub Company Summit, run in association with the Publican’s Morning Advertiser and M&C Report.

The main objective of the Tenant Track research programme is to help members of the industry learn from each other and to identify best in class performance. Tom said: “At the end of the day, ‘a rising tide lifts all ships’ – and if each pub co can improve, the industry will improve. As well as showing the best performers in the industry, the research also demonstrates that there is still plenty more that pub co groups could be doing to support their tenants better.”

Greene King received the highest satisfaction ratings against Scottish & Newcastle, Punch, Admiral and Marston’s. Tom added: “Many congratulations to Greene King who have clearly being doing a lot of work in supporting their tenants to improve their businesses, such as setting up training programmes for licensees and regional business development managers, updating their code of practice with tenants and more.”

Simon Longbotton, managing director of Greene King Pub Partners said: “This is a fantastic result. We’ve been working extremely hard to ensure that out licensees have a successful partnership with us, developing initiatives such as the customer experience surveys, post graduate diploma in multi-site retailing for business development managers and out Business Builder and Know How support packages for our licensees, and we’ll continue to focus on these over the next few months.”

ENDS>> 

About Tenant Track – Each year him! research & consulting speaks to 500 pub tenants of Scottish & Newcastle , Greene King, Punch, Admiral and  Marston’s pubs to get their thoughts and opinions of their Tenant Pub company and the service they provide to the tenants. 

About him! research & consulting – him! has, for 40 years, helped retailers, service businesses and suppliers to understand their customers… and sell more to them.   A consulting firm with an exceptional commitment to research, we have conducted over 15 million moment of truth “conversations”, during shopping, giving robust database confidence and predictive skill.  Our current 120+ blue chip client relationships are based on involvement in one or more of a number of exclusive customer tracking programmes or bespoke research-based consulting, making us experts in shoppers and shopping.

CONTACT

For more information please contact Georgina Wild, Marketing Manager on Georgina.Wild@him.uk.com 020 7611 0404/ 07920 566723

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By Matt Furnell, 22/05/2011 9:39 am

We’re looking for Assistant and Trainee Managers  to help run our high profile venues within Greene King Local Pubs.

If you’re passionate about service and have a desire to achieve then please come along to our recruitment day on:

Thursday 2nd June 2011 anytime between 11am – 8pm

at

The George,
75-77 Borough High Street,
Southwark SE1 1NH
(next to London Bridge Tube/Train Station).

For further information please phone 01284 714115 alternatively visit our website and complete our registration form.

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By Matt Furnell, 16/05/2011 11:49 am

Greene King Pub Partners has launched a Franchise style agreement this week following a highly successful trial of nine pubs.  The franchise concept will be rolled out across 50 pubs within the leased and tenanted business over the next twelve months and focuses on community town and suburban sites with opportunity for market share growth.  Developed around franchise principles, the concept provides a proven pub package based on Greene King’s retailing “know how”.

Speaking about the launch, managing director for Pub Partners, Simon Longbottom said, “We developed this concept over the last nine months and wanted to make absolutely sure it worked as a model before we launched.  We know from our trials that it provides a platform for entrepreneurs to thrive in the highly competitive urban community segment.  It’s based around the franchise model, capable of multi site rollout and, we’re seeing some great businesses delivering net sales of on average between £7-11k per week and a minimum franchisee income of £45k per annum.  It’s all about sharing the risk and return”. 

Potential franchisees can benefit from the business opportunity with a minimum start up investment of £30,000.  The turn key approach provides a pub on a plate with a high level of support for the franchisee including:

• Wet and dry offer proven to drive market share in the suburban community market
• Clear operating standards and procedures
• EPOS till systems for improved licensee controls
• Sky and electronic music and entertainment systems on a 50:50 cost split
• Rent lower than a standard tenancy with a franchise fee linked to customer service and a 2% marketing charge on net turnover
• Food and drink supplied by Greene King and their channels taking advantage of the scale and buying power of the pub group and providing attractive cost prices
• Capex investment
• Fully supported marketing plans
• Detailed mystery guest and audit programme focused on driving sales.

Adding, Longbottom said, “We’re looking for operators with strong retailing skills, who are self motivated and can create and build a successful team dedicated in delivering the highest standards of customer service within their pub. Each franchisee undergoes a two week fully funded training programme, alongside on site pub staff training to ensure the standards and quality of the customer experience match that of the offer.  

The support this formula provides allows franchisees to take on a successful concept with the assurance they’ll be able to make a minimum of £45,000 income per year.  The franchisee pays a below market rent and then a franchise fee based on a percentage of sales.  The higher service and standard scores they achieve the lower the percentage they pay. So it’s very much a joint venture approach – allowing costs to the business to fluctuate with turnover and delivery of great quality service rewarded.  The franchisee has the benefit of knowing they’re working with the full backing of Greene King’s “know how” and that we both have skin in the game”. 

Greene King has taken advantage of its managed house food cost prices and food development expertise to devise a menu offering value for money and competitive pricing for the pubs.  All pubs receive full kitchen packages, menu and promotional POS. 

David Knott and Robert Lamb are licensees from the Orange Tree in Braintree, one of the first trial sites within the Pub Partners estate.  The pub has seen sales grow from £2.7k per week to over £10k net since the conversion.  David said, “This idea is fantastic as it allows you to walk straight into a pub and operate it successfully.  You complete the training and follow the operating procedures and you have a busy pub.  Everything has been developed to serve the community market, with the pricing set exactly how you need it.  It’s operating your own business within a certain framework.  That’s not restrictive but it gives you the support you need so the pub remains successful”.

Greene King Pub Partners is in discussions with the British Franchise Association to gain accreditation for their franchise concept.   Currently the agreement is for 6 years with an 18 month break clause but this may change with franchise accreditation.  All those pubs on the existing 6 year agreement will be offered the new franchise agreement. Pubs will be advertised on the GreeneKingpubs.co.uk website.

ENDS

Pictured: David Knott and Robert Lamb of the Orange Tree and internal pictures of the Franchise concept pub.

Press contact: Elaine Beckett, PR & Communications Manager, Greene King Pub Partners, Tel: 07974 132844.