Running successful pubs ‘isn’t hard’, says London licensee
Scott Hunter, who now runs three food-led pubs in the capital with his wife Maria Larsen, says the reason behind the pair’s quick successes was simply ‘hard work, determination and a passion for the industry’.
“It was a big learning curve for us both and we’ve had to work so hard, but if we could do it I don’t see why anyone else couldn’t,” Hunter told BigHospitality. “We initially took over a dilapidated Shoreditch boozer (in 2008) which wasn’t making money and the glamour of having our own business disappeared within a week - we were working from 8am until midnight every day.”
The couple, who met while working at a Pitcher & Piano bar together, took over the Princess of Shoreditch and doubled sales in less than a year. They then acquired the Lady Ottoline in Bloomsbury in 2011, followed by the Pig & Butcher in Islington last year.
Proactive approach
“This first pub was turning over hundreds of pound a week -, it was dead,” Hunter added. “But the most important thing for us was that we had an idea of what we wanted to achieve there.
“The reason that other pubs are closing left, right and centre is because they’re run by people that don’t know what they’re doing and have got no passion, they’ve fallen into the industry and they don’t want to learn.
“If you’re a pub that doesn’t serve food then you’re going to have to accept not having that extra revenue stream. The likes of the smoking ban and the effects of beer tax have of course affected things, but if you’re just going to sit there and wallow then your companies going to go bust.
“You’ve got to be proactive; you can’t just sit and wait for your pub to die."
'Cash flow is everything'
Hunter went on to admit that there have been difficulties along the way, claiming ‘the biggest challenge was in having no other support’.
“Maria and I went from working at fairly large pub companies to having to do everything from marketing to payroll to purchasing and maintaining equipment. Managing staff was difficult - finding good people and dealing with chefs can be very stressful.
“Before I put our business plan together I thought I knew what I was doing in all of these regards, but when I read the plan back I realised I still had so much to learn. I discovered that cash flow is everything - it doesn’t matter how profitable your business is, if you haven’t got enough money in the bank to pay your bills, you’re going to go bust.
“In reality, though, it’s just not that hard, getting initial funding can be tough but you don’t need a lot of money to open a pub, you just need to keep looking for the right site – I spent nearly a year looking at every single pub on the market in London until I found the one that was right for us.”
After a successful trading period January, Hunter concluded that the pair don’t have any plans to continue expanding the business, but wouldn’t rule out acquiring more pubs if the right offer came their way.
