Brakspear aiming for industry’s lowest pub to BDM ratio

November 5, 2012

Brakspear is recruiting a new business development manager, which will see the company’s 148 pubs being supported by a team of five BDMs – believed to be one of the lowest pub-to-BDM ratios in the industry at fewer than 30 pubs each.

Chief executive Tom Davies said, “This appointment is about strengthening the support we offer our tenants. By increasing the number of BDMs, we are getting them back to doing what they do best, which is to help our tenants run successful businesses.  They’ll be able to spend more time in their pubs and get to know everyone involved in them, so the support they offer will be tailored to each pub and the people in it.”

Brakspear pubs are offered further support from the company’s design manager, Stephanie Dennett, who joined earlier this year to help tenants with refurbishments and ‘sparkles’ for their pubs.  Her appointment has taken much of the project management around pub developments away from the BDM team, freeing them up to spend more time with their tenants.  Similarly, the process of finding and placing new tenants in vacant pubs is managed by a tenant recruitment manager, appointed in 2011.

Davies added, “We’re already seeing the benefits of investing in the BDM-tenant relationship, as just 5% of our pubs are currently on the rental market. This is a lower rate than the industry average and we believe it’s because we look after our tenants from the recruitment process right through their career with us. We’re also seeing a growing number of tenants take their second or third pub with us.”

Davies is aiming to recruit the new BDM by January, when they will join the team of four existing BDMs, supporting Brakspear’s pubs.  The company has bought seven pubs since July this year.

Caption to image (right): Tom Davies (far right) with two of Brakspear BDMs, Gerard Winder (left) and Mat Aket (centre)