Hospitality / Pub & Restaurant · 2023–2024
Leading UK pub and brewing group
Header image: sector-appropriate stock photography — no dedicated photography exists in the vault for this engagement (§5 of the build spec).
The group is a major UK pub, restaurant and hotel operator. Its CMO brought us in to lead a brand transformation intended to diversify the business into mainstream and premium segments through five new concepts.
The situation
Five new hotel, pub and restaurant concepts had been initiated to move the group into new customer segments, but delivery had stalled under competing priorities across nine functions: Brand, Design, Property, Food, Drink, People, Operations, IT and Digital. Each function was running to its own agenda and timeline, and the programme needed a way to bring them together at a pace matched to each pilot.
The challenge
Nine functions pulling in different directions was the core obstacle to getting any of the five concepts to market.
- Brand, Design, Property, Food, Drink, People, Operations, IT and Digital each running to separate agendas and timelines.
- No integrated decision cadence to move pilots forward at a consistent pace.
- Five concepts needing to launch and be validated individually, each with its own commercial case.
- Delivery confidence had broken down, stalling the wider brand transformation.
What we did
We established a single delivery model that cut across all nine functions, with clear ownership and a pace matched to each pilot rather than the slowest function in the room.
- Established an integrated delivery model and decision cadence across Brand, Design, Property, Food, Drink, People, Operations, IT and Digital.
- Gave each concept clear ownership and its own project budget and commercial case.
- Oversaw concept design, build, pilot site investment and validation for all five concepts.
- Transitioned validated formats to Divisions for rollout under a new target operating model once tested and revised.
Results
The programme delivered what it had stalled on.
- Five new hotel, pub and restaurant concepts launched.
- Delivery confidence and pace were restored across a previously stalled programme.
- Validated formats transitioned to Divisions for rollout across the existing estate under a new target operating model.
- Ageing pub, restaurant and hotel formats were repositioned into new customer segments, including moving under-performing hotels in strong locations into upper-mid and boutique positioning.
What made the difference
Giving each concept its own ownership and commercial case, rather than running all five through a single shared process, meant a delay or problem on one pilot did not hold up the other four. That let the programme move at the pace each concept actually needed, which is what got a stalled, nine-function transformation back to market.
Role
Programme Director, Brand Transformation
Sector
Hospitality / Pub & Restaurant