Category Archives: Food & Drink

Cardiff, Cardiff News, Food & Drink, News

Croeso Pubs takes over lease of The Discovery in Lakeside

Croeso Pubs Ltd, the South Wales pub chain which already runs six venues including The Philharmonic and Brewhouse in the Welsh capital, has added The Discovery in Lakeside to its portfolio.

The pub, formerly run by Knife and Fork Food Ltd, will undergo a £400,000 major refurbishment in January and will be run by the team behind The Philharmonic, Brewhouse, Retro, Blue Bell, Daffodil, and The Dock in Cardiff Bay.

The Discovery is the first ‘community pub’ that will be run by Croeso Pubs.

 

Craig Davies, Director of Croeso Pubs, said it’s an exciting acquisition: “When we heard the lease was up for sale in June we didn’t hesitate. It’s always been a popular gastropub for the locals and we look forward to welcoming visitors to sample some of the best locally-sourced food and drink.

“The Discovery will be opening seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner and will also show live sport. We can’t wait to welcome former regulars and new customers through the doors.”

Croeso Pubs Ltd has a great track history in breathing new life into venues. It took over the lease for The Philharmonic and reopened it in 2017 after a £1million refurbishment and turned it into Cardiff’s most popular nightspot. Croeso also took over former Brains pub 33 Windsor Place in December 2022 and reopened it as Daffodil, a food-led venue, that has gone from strength to strength, and whose Sunday roasts regularly sell out.

In January 2023, Croeso also added former Marston’s Brains pub The Dock in Cardiff Bay to its portfolio and in March, celebrated the 10th anniversary of the opening of Cardiff’s best loved sport and live music venue, Brewhouse.

 

Fellow Croeso Director Simon Little added: “We are enjoying huge success at our establishments in central Cardiff and Cardiff Bay. The Discovery has huge potential to be a bustling community pub and it’s fantastic to add it to the Croeso pubs family.”

 

The bar will also be showing all major sports events with full Sky, Amazon, BT and Viaplay packages.

 

Food & Drink, Hospitality, News

Unlocking the Secrets of a Successful Catering Kitchen

It’s important to not underestimate the challenge of running a business. On average, nearly 20% of new businesses don’t even make it to their second year.

However, if you have decided to start your own business, you could at least tip those odds of survival more in your favour by choosing a line of work you love — and how many of us don’t love food? For this reason, setting up a catering kitchen can be a particularly enticing prospect.

You would, though, have to juggle a lot of plates (no, not literally — you obviously want to save them for the dinner table!) as a caterer — whether you prepare food for private events or corporate functions. Here are several steps for you to take on your way to achieving culinary excellence.

 

Start small

If you are considering going into catering in the first place, it’s probably because you have a lot of fun putting together gastronomic delights in your home’s kitchen — and your catering business could start there, too. You could even use ingredients that are already in your kitchen cupboards.

As for exactly what type of catering you ought to start offering first, it could help if you consider your personal connections. For example, if you know quite a few people who are set to get married soon, you could have plenty of opportunities to learn the ropes as a wedding caterer.

Further down the line, as your business takes on more and more orders, you might need to move into a professional kitchen. A catering kitchen for rent can give you cost-effective access to better amenities, such as larger ovens, while helping you to keep on top of the hygiene side of things.

 

Find a USP (unique selling point)

Of course, there are many different places where you could potentially provide catering. When someone is celebrating a special milestone, such as a birthday, anniversary or wedding, the quality of the food can be a big part of the experience.

You could also target business events along the lines of product launches and award ceremonies. Still, no matter how far you endeavour to extend your catering remit, you should also seek to give your business a distinctive ‘hook’; something that can help it to carve out a niche in the market.

Perhaps you could specialise in offering vegan-only food, or pledge to source all your ingredients locally? Whatever slant you go for, it will ideally be one that few if any catering companies in the area are already chasing, but which enables you to tap into pent-up demand.

 

Keep on eye on your corporate finances

How should you price your business’s catering services? It will be a tricky balance to price highly enough to cover your overheads, but also low enough to attract customers. Here, it would be wise for you to look at what competing caterers are charging for services similar to yours.

In any case, you should also seek clever ways to streamline your financial outgoings. For example, by accurately forecasting what ingredients you will need and when, you can reduce food wastage.

In fact, preventing many forms of waste would bode well for both the financial health and green credentials of your company. As the world-renowned naturalist David Attenborough has urged: “Don’t waste electricity; don’t waste paper; don’t waste food.”

 

Engage heavily in marketing

You can help to spread the word about your catering business through various marketing channels — including a dedicated business website, as well as a string of social media profiles. In all of these online places, you can post high-definition photographs of food items from your menu.

Not all of your catering kitchen business’s marketing activities have to take place online, however. You could look into running print ads, distributing leaflets and flyers, and sponsoring events.

 

Continue to maintain and enhance your services

Perhaps the most powerful form of marketing is word of mouth. You therefore have a strong incentive to make sure you are keeping pace with — and if possible, surpassing — the competition across a wide range of measures, including:

  • The quality and variety of the cuisine
  • Value for money
  • Punctuality
  • Your handling of customer queries or complaints

Nonetheless, in your drive to acquire new customers, you should be careful not to overlook those you have already served. You could strive to stay in touch with them and offer them special money-off deals.

 

A catering kitchen can be a great place for you to experiment with different ingredients in an attempt to find the ‘next big thing’ on the dining scene — and hopefully build a reputation for innovation.

Appointments, Food & Drink, News

Hydes Appoints New Manager to Head Up Popular Chester Pub

A leading North West brewery and pub retailer has appointed a new general manager at its popular premium dining pub, the Hornsmill at Helsby. 

Hydes brewery has appointed Sam Self to run The Hornsmill. 

With almost 15 years of experience in the hospitality trade and having worked at managerial level in and around Merseyside and Cheshire, Sam was previously general manager of a popular pub in Formby for the past 18 months.

In his new role at The Hornsmill, Sam has been instrumental in bringing in new team members as well as working alongside existing employees, some of whom have been there for several years.   

Serving comforting, seasonal food and an extensive range of favourite wines, beers and soft drinks, The Hornsmill is a stylish, modern pub with a spacious orangery dining area alongside a bar restaurant, comfortably serving 160 guests. Sunday lunch service regularly attracts in excess of 350 guests.

Sam commented: “I’m very much looking forward to operating The Hornsmill which is already a hugely successful premium dining pub in the Hydes estate. I’m looking forward to getting to know the team here as well as the surrounding community and all the regulars, and building on the tremendous success that has been built up here. I’ve been interested in food and drink and hospitality since I was a teenager so this opportunity is a dream come true for me. 

“Being so close to Chester, the pub is a great destination venue and its reputation for premium quality food and drinks ensures that visitors want to return. I’m looking forward to working closely with the Hydes team and introducing some fresh new ideas of my own into the mix, which as supportive business operators they welcome and encourage.” 

Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets and traditional community pubs.

Managing director of Hydes Brewery, Adam Mayers said: “Sam is very experienced and well equipped to take The Hornsmill to the next level of success. His enthusiasm and commitment is outstanding and he perfectly embodies all the key customer service attributes that Hydes looks for in its managers.” 

Sam’s appointment is part of an ongoing multi-million pound investment and recruitment programme across the Hydes’ estate. Hydes committed over £4.5m worth of investment in pubs across its estate in 2022 and it intends to increase that investment substantially throughout 2023.

Adam Mayers continued: “Hydes is not only committed to delivering exceptional products and services but also playing an integral role in the communities our pubs serve. Investment in our pubs and our people is top priority and the appointment of Sam Self is a clear demonstration of this commitment to the future of our estate.”

Hydes, with its brewery in Media City, Salford, was formed in 1863 and supplies beers to wholesalers, pub companies and other brewers throughout the UK and a pub retailing estate of nearly 50 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.

To find out more about Hydes Brewery visit https://www.hydesbrewery.com/.

 

Image caption:

Hydes brewery has appointed Sam Self to run The Hornsmill at Helsby.

Careers, Christmas, Food & Drink, Hospitality, News, Recruitment, Recruitment News

Greene King Puts the Spotlight on Festive Hiring with Innovative Careers Site in Partnership with SmartRecruiters

Greene King, the country’s leading pub company and brewer is enhancing its holiday hiring efforts with the launch of its new festive careers site. The site has been designed to help Greene King meet the demands of the holiday period and will see 580 vacancies go live throughout the country, open to candidates from all backgrounds and experience levels.

The Greene King jobs site recently secured the prestigious Happy Dance Award for “Best New Careers Site” at the 2023 Tiara Talent Acquisition Awards. The recognition stems from the site’s successful implementation of multiple sub-brands whilst allowing individual Talent Acquisition (TA) teams access to update their own content, clearly highlighting the site’s impressive personalisation, flexibility, and interactivity.

 

Lindsey Stone, Greene King’s Head of Talent Attraction & Resourcing, emphasised the importance of this initiative: “It goes without saying that the Christmas period is one of the busiest times of year for us, and with that, it is one of the busiest times of year for hiring. Greene King manages 1,600 pubs across the country and it. is essential that we have a careers site that is easily accessible and manageable by individual talent acquisition teams.”

“The new Greene King careers site doesn’t only serve as a gateway for potential employees, it also offers jobseekers a unique glimpse into life at Greene King – showcasing authentic stories from team members that reflect the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“Our mission is to be a trailblazer when it comes to inclusion in the hospitality industry. We want to embody this commitment to everyday inclusion through our new site. We chose to partner with SmartRecruiters to build a site that mirrors our brand values and culture and brings those aspects to life by delivering an excellent candidate experience,” Stone added.

 

Rob Symons, EVP Strategic Partnerships at SmartRecruiters, highlighted the challenges faced by the UK’s hospitality sector in recent years, particularly concerning staff shortages. “For Greene King, optimising the candidate experience was crucial to attract and hire the best talent. We are excited to be a part of this transformative journey,” Symons added.

 

About SmartRecruiters

SmartRecruiters enables Hiring Without Boundaries™ by freeing talent acquisition teams from legacy applicant tracking software. SmartRecruiters’ next-generation platform serves as the hiring operating system for 4,000 customers like Bosch, LinkedIn, Skechers, and Visa. Companies with business-critical hiring needs turn to SmartRecruiters for best-of-breed functionality, world-class support, and a robust ecosystem of third-party applications and service providers.

For more information visit www.smartrecruiters.com or www.linkedin.com/company/smartrecruiters.

 

 

 

 

Brecon, Food & Drink, News, Wales

Beacon Foods prepares for major growth following £6m investment

Beacon Foods, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of ingredients and ready-to-eat products, has invested £6 million in a three-year expansion programme.

The investment has doubled both the size of its manufacturing and storage facilities – to 53,000 square feet – and its production capacity in preparation for major business growth.

The Brecon-based company, which has 130 employees, supplies food manufacturers, food service, coffee shops, fast food chains and travel and hospitality industries.

The company has greatly increased production volumes, capabilities and packaging options. New state-of-art machinery includes kettles, a char griller and spiral oven and new packaging equipment to supply sachets and dip pots.

A 50 per cent increase in orders for garlic puree this year has forced the company to introduce a new production line to satisfy growing customer demand.

Aiming to boost its sustainability credentials, Beacon Foods has also invested in 1,428 solar PV panels which will produce up to 500,000 kilowatts of electricity. Beacon Foods will use the majority of the generated electricity within its facilities and potentially export to the National Grid at weekends

The increased production capacity has also prompted the company to upgrade its waste water treatment processing plant.

Two new storage tanks, with more than 430 cubic litres capacity, a new aeration system to increase the biological process and new filters that will increase potential discharge capacity to 150 cubic litres per day have been installed.

Chairman Edward Gough believes Beacon Foods is now perfectly placed to secure new business opportunities.

“We have doubled our manufacturing capacity, invested in state-of-the-art machinery, enhanced our reputation for quality, safe products and personal customer service and have already secured more business this year, so the future looks very promising,” he said.

“We also believe that we are unique in being able to offer UK produced, bespoke recipes of ready to eat, IQF (individual quick frozen) char grilled and roasted vegetables, which are both proving to be extremely popular with customers

“With the new, additional equipment, we are able to offer our customers products packed in small sachets and dip pots.

“We have around 6,000 different recipes, which appeals to customers in different markets, and have many years of experience which makes us stand out from competitors.”

Established in 1993, Beacon Foods is the UK’s leading specialist producer of garlic, ginger and chili puree, roasted and char grilled vegetables and fruit ranges, relishes, chutneys, sauces and fruit compotes.

The ingredients go into literally thousands of products, including sandwiches, ready meals, pizzas, soups, drinks and desserts, which can be found on supermarket shelves, airlines, restaurant chains and coffee shops.

Picture caption:

Edward Gough, Beacon Foods chairman.

Food & Drink, Hospitality, News

160 years on, Hydes keeps it in the family with latest appointment

Leading North West brewery and pub retailer Hydes is ensuring that the future of the business is in good hands after Hydes family member and brewery employee Tom Allkins, passed his Level 4 brewing apprenticeship with distinction.

Established in 1863, Hydes is commemorating its 160th anniversary this year.

 

Tom, who is the nephew of Adam Hyde, the longest serving employee and family member in the business as company secretary, has now been promoted from brewing apprentice to laboratory manager at Hydes brewery premises in Salford.

To celebrate Tom’s promotion and exciting journey within the family business, both he and Adam Hyde were invited to the newly opened Hydes premium dining pub, The Harry Beswick, in Heswall, on the Wirral. Tom had the honour of pulling the first official Hydes pint from the newly installed pumps, serving it to his uncle Adam.

 

The £3.6M Harry Beswick is the first new Hydes establishment to open in five years. Hydes acquired the landmark building, formerly Heswall’s community police station, in 2022 costing £1.3million. The acquisition of the building was Hydes’ first property acquisition since 2018.

In addition to Tom’s apprenticeship achievements, fellow brewery worker Tom Rostron has also passed his apprenticeship and has been appointed Hydes’ brewery manager.

Hydes originated when brothers Alfred and Ralf Hyde acquired a small brewing concern in Manchester from their grandfather Thomas Shaw in 1863, beginning a brewing dynasty that would go on to mark its 160th anniversary this year.

As Hydes’ business developed it was managed by a variety of family members from different generations, increasing success led to it outgrowing its premises several times.

In 1899, with William and Annie Hyde in control, the business moved to its long-term home at the Queens Brewery site in Brooks Bar, Manchester. It was under their leadership that the company began acquiring an estate of public houses through which to distribute more of Hydes’ products.   In 2012, after over 100 years, the company ended its tenure at the Queens Brewery and relocated to its existing site in Salford’s Media City, the Beer Studio.

 

160 years later and Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets and traditional community pubs.

New laboratory manager Tom, commented: “It feels great to be making my own way within the family business and to continue the brewing traditions started 160 years ago. It was an honour to attend the opening of our latest establishment and officially welcome the Harry Beswick into the Hydes pub family.”

Adam Hyde, company secretary and board member, who has spent over 40 years working for the family business, commented: “What better way to commemorate our 160th year of brewing excellence than launching a new addition to our extensive estate and officially welcoming the next generation of the family into the fold, preserving the rich history of the brewery and further strengthening our heritage for another generation.

“The family is very proud of Hydes’ distinguished heritage and reputation as a first rate employer which respects and values its employees. A strong focus on running the business with the traditional values that have guaranteed its survival since 1863 is still very much in play, along with the ability to evolve and adapt to a dynamic and ever-changing landscape.”

 

Hydes, with its brewery in Media City, Salford, was formed in 1863 and supplies beers to wholesalers, pub companies and other brewers throughout the UK and a pub retailing estate of nearly 50 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.

 

Pictured: Tom Allkins (left) and Adam Hyde toast Hydes’ newly launched Harry Beswick premium dining pub in Heswall

Cardiff, Food & Drink, Haverfordwest, News, Sustainability

Totally Welsh Brings the Cream of the Crop to Cardiff: New Expansion Promises Fresh Opportunities and Jobs

Haverfordwest-based dairy company announces a new distribution hub in Cardiff, bringing local, sustainable produce and employment to the city.

Totally Welsh, a leading Welsh dairy company, has announced it is opening a new distribution hub in Cardiff. The expansion, designed to meet growing customer demand, is set to create new jobs in the city while simultaneously supporting the company’s ambitious growth plans.

Founded in 1990, Totally Welsh has become a household name for quality locally sourced Welsh milk and other dairy products. With its roots in Haverfordwest, the company now employs around 110 people across three sites and achieved a turnover of £17 million in 2022.

The expansion to Cardiff represents an exciting new chapter in the company’s story, allowing it to scale up its direct-to-consumer and business-to-business services across Southeast Wales.

This new distribution hub, occupying 10,000 square feet off Penarth Road, will initially create five new roles. These will range from delivery drivers to customer service representatives, with further employment opportunities expected in the coming years.

 

“Totally Welsh has always been about more than just dairy for us. The brand embodies the Welsh community spirit,” says John Horsman, General Manager of Totally Welsh.

“This new hub isn’t merely an expansion; it’s a reinforcement of our ongoing commitment to bring high-quality, local produce to more people while championing job creation and sustainability.”

In addition to supplying supermarkets, hospitals, schools and independent retailers, Totally Welsh delivers bottled milk to over 7000 doorstep customers. Although its primary market is south Wales, it delivers three times a week into England, with delivery vehicles reaching as far as Southampton.

Its milk bottles are processed on the first new large-scale glass bottling line built in the UK in 40 years, representing an investment of over £1 million.

 

As well as using reusable materials and reducing food miles by sourcing locally, Totally Welsh takes pride in its commitment to sustainability and aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

A recent benchmarking exercise revealed that while the average carbon footprint in the dairy industry stands at 1200g CO2 per litre manufactured, Totally Welsh’s footprint is just 186g CO2 per litre manufactured, thanks to a meticulous approach to sourcing and operations.

 

“Our milk is locally sourced, drastically cutting down journey times to our plant,” explained Mark Hunter, Managing Director of Totally Welsh.

“Additionally, we’ve fitted solar panels on our factory roof as a backup to our main power supply, and we’re making strides in recycling – our poly bottles already include recycled content. We’re in the process of shifting our fleet to electric vehicles, especially for city-centre operations. It’s not just about meeting benchmarks, but about setting new, greener standards for the industry.”

 

The company’s engagement with the Business Wales Accelerated Growth Programme (AGP) has been instrumental in advancing these goals. The company has received tailored support with sustainability, workforce development, and market expansion. John Horsman explains:

“The support from AGP has been invaluable. From marketing insights to tactical business advice, their guidance has been a cornerstone of our expansion strategy and sustainability goals.

“This expansion aligns perfectly with our long-standing commitment to sustainability. We’re not just bringing jobs to Cardiff; we’re bringing a vision for a greener, more sustainable future,” he added.

 

—

About Totally Welsh

Totally Welsh offers a wide range of dairy products sourced from farms within a forty-mile radius of their Haverfordwest bottling plant. Committed to delivering the freshest produce, they serve a diverse clientele in South Wales, including supermarkets, hospitals, schools, and thousands of doorstep delivery customers.

 

Food & Drink, News, North of England

Hydes opens £3.6M premium dining pub on the Wirral

Leading North West brewery and pub retailer Hydes has launched its first new establishment in five years, following the opening of its latest premium pub dining venue, The Harry Beswick, on the Wirral, Merseyside.

The Salford-based brewer acquired the landmark building on Telegraph Road in 2022 at a cost of £1.3million. The acquisition of the building was Hydes’ first property acquisition since 2018. 

 

Unused for over a decade, Hydes spent the past six months and invested over £2.3 million into transforming the town’s former police station into a premium pub dining venue serving a quality food and drink choice. 

Hydes has named the pub ‘The Harry Beswick’ in recognition of the original architect of the building. Born in Chester in 1856, Harry Beswick was county architect for Chester from 1895 until 1926, responsible for designing over 40 buildings including numerous police stations and school buildings.

The transformation began in early summer this year. The iconic building, originally built in 1911, underwent an extensive renovation, retaining many of the building’s original features, with design enhancements and touches reflecting the station’s proud police force history.

Part of the renovations include an extension to create cosy dining including a spacious outside dining area with the addition of a welcoming sun-facing terrace and a car park, resulting in a positive contribution to the street scene, and overall vibrancy of Heswall town centre.

 

With almost a decade of experience with Hydes at some of its most successful premium dining pubs, Roy Wilson has been appointed as general manager. Roy successfully managed The Hornsmill in Helsby, near Chester, since 2018. Prior to this, he was at The Jolly Thresher in Lymm.

Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets and traditional community pubs. Hydes currently operates one other establishment on the Wirral, the Boathouse in Parkgate, Neston.

 

The Harry Beswick offers a varied menu of classic and contemporary food dishes with traditional roast dinners served all day on Sundays, plus Hydes’ comprehensive range of cask and keg beers, and an extensive wines and spirits selection. 

Managing director of Hydes Brewery, Adam Mayers, said: “The building and restoration is simply stunning and we’ve created a destination venue in keeping with the area. We have worked tirelessly to ensure The Harry Beswick delivers a memorable experience for customers with a quality, contemporary new design scheme and feel, combined with a premium dining and drinking offering and Hydes’ standards of customer service.  

“Acquiring the building was a long time in the making and our first for five years. The pandemic put a hold on acquisitions and we focused on our existing pub estate. With the opening of the Harry Beswick, we feel the wait has most definitely been worth it.”

 

The acquisition and opening of The Harry Beswick represents an ongoing multi-million pound investment programme across the Hydes’ estate. Last year, Hydes committed over £4.5m to refurbishments of pubs across its estate and has increased that investment substantially throughout 2023 and 2024, with further acquisitions planned for next year.

Roy Wilson, general manager of The Harry Beswick, added: “After being left for years, it’s great to see such an iconic building open once again and bustling with guests. It’s an outstanding building and the investment to restore it to its former glory, fully retaining its significant heritage and history, has always been very important to us and our customers. First impressions on our opening weekend have been overwhelmingly positive and together with my enthusiastic and talented team, we’re looking forward to creating an experience that will see guests returning regularly.”

Hydes, with its brewery in Media City, Salford, was formed in 1863 and supplies beers to wholesalers, pub companies and other brewers throughout the UK and a pub retailing estate of nearly 50 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.

 

Pictured (above): Roy Wilson (front, centre), general manager at The Harry Beswick in Heswall, with some of his team

Food & Drink, Hospitality, News, North-West England

Hydes prepares to open new Wirral premium dining pub

A leading North West brewery and pub retailer is putting the finishing touches to its newest premium pub and dining destination outlet. Signage has been installed at The Harry Beswick in Heswall, on the Wirral, and new recruits are undergoing onsite training as the £3.6M new pub restaurant prepares to open its doors to the public in a few weeks.

The opening of The Harry Beswick has created 55 full and part-time jobs in the Heswall area, ranging from management and front of house team to chefs, bar supervisors and cleaning staff. 

Roy Wilson was appointed as general manager during the renovation of the building, which had been unoccupied for almost a decade, following the closure of Heswall police station in 2014. Roy has a decade of experience with Hydes at some of its most successful premium dining pubs, having previously managed The Hornsmill in Helsby, near Chester for over five years and The Jolly Thresher in Lymm.

Salford-based Hydes brewery acquired the landmark building on Telegraph Road last year. The project has seen the conversion of the town’s former police station into a premium dining and drinking establishment which Hydes named in honour of the original architect of the building.

Born in Chester in 1856, Harry Beswick was county architect for Chester from 1895 until 1926, responsible for designing over 40 buildings including numerous police stations and school buildings.

The £1.3million acquisition is Hydes’ first property acquisition in over five years. Over the past few months, the historic building which dates back to 1911 has been transformed, with Hydes investing over £2.3million in its restoration and refurbishment. 

A recruitment drive in the local area resulted in hundreds of applications for available roles at the pub. Employees are currently undergoing a comprehensive training programme which includes a site visit to Hydes brewery in Salford. 

Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales, including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets and traditional community pubs. Hydes currently operates one other establishment on the Wirral, the Boat House in nearby Neston.

Managing director of Hydes, Adam Mayers, said: “We’re very excited about the opening of The Harry Beswick. The building looks breathtaking, retaining a great deal of heritage and character from its former life. We have also assembled an experienced and very talented team to ensure that the opening is a resounding success.  

“This considerable investment is part of an ongoing programme of planned investments, redesigns and refurbishments. Providing our customers with a quality, memorable experience is a top priority, and we’re delighted to be opening such a stunning venue in Heswall.”

General manager Roy Wilson added: “We have worked hard to make sure The Harry Beswick will deliver a great experience for customers with a quality, contemporary new design scheme and feel combined with a premium dining and drinking experience and Hydes’ standards of customer service. There’s a real buzz about the opening. We can’t wait to welcome everyone and see them enjoy what we’ve created here.”

The acquisition forms part of an ongoing multi-million investment programme across the Hydes’ estate over the next few years. Last year, Hydes committed over £4.5m to refurbishments of pubs and it intends to increase that investment this year and next.

Food & Drink, News

Hydes Brewery Posts Record Results in its 160th Year

Salford-based brewer and pub retailer Hydes has announced a record turnover for the financial year 2022-23.

The family-owned independent business which is celebrating its 160th anniversary this year, delivered turnover of £34.1m for the year ending 2 April 2023, despite challenging economic conditions. This latest record turnover is up £5.8m on 2022’s figure of £28.3m. 

Hydes, with its brewery in Media City, was formed in 1863 and supplies beers to wholesalers, pub companies and other brewers throughout the UK and a pub retailing estate of nearly 50 pubs across the North West of England and North Wales.

Soaring inflation, high energy costs, a tight labour market and rising interest rates all contributed to extremely difficult trading conditions for the hospitality industry as a whole. Decisions made in previous years to fix energy costs until 2024 and enter long term contracts with major suppliers ensured the family-run business was shielded from some of the worst financial impacts of inflation.

Accounts filed at Companies House also show that the brewery was impacted by significant cost increases in food and consumable goods. Staff recruitment, particularly in kitchens, also presented a challenge, resulting in higher payroll costs across Hydes’ managed pub estate. 

Financial year ended 2 April 2023 saw an operating profit of £2.2m, the same as 2022. Whilst operating profit for 2023 increased marginally, the previous year had significant Government support in the form of grants and rates relief (£1.2m) plus VAT reductions on food and soft drinks.

According to non-executive Chairman, Richard Lancaster, the foresight to fix energy costs and negotiate long term supplier contracts allowed the business to limit sales price increases throughout the year. This ensured competitiveness on price, offering value for money for customers whenever visiting one of Hydes’ pubs. 

Throughout the year Hydes continued to invest in its estate. The Jolly Thresher in Lymm and The John Millington in Cheadle Hulme both underwent extensive refurbishments. The Jolly Thresher performed strongly throughout the year, exceeding all expectations, whilst the sales performance following the John Millington refurbishment project has been exceptional. Further investments were made at various other sites including the Sam Brooks in Sale, The Golden Lion in Rossett and Alfred’s in Macclesfield. All managed public houses in the estate are now fully Hydes branded. 

In October 2022, Hydes completed its first freehold acquisition since September 2015, purchasing the former police station in Heswall. Named after the architect of the original building, The Harry Beswick, has seen over £3.6m in investment and is currently undergoing an extensive renovation ahead of its opening as a premium pub and dining venue in November this year.

Two disposals from the tenanted estate took place during the year with the Carlton Tavern in Chester sold to existing tenants for £175k and The Eagle Hotel in Buxton sold for £170k. 

Richard Lancaster commented: “In a year marked by unprecedented challenges in the hospitality industry, Hydes has demonstrated remarkable resilience, innovation, and customer loyalty, resulting in a record-breaking turnover in its 160th year of operation. This significant achievement not only highlights the brewery’s commitment to delivering exceptional products and services but also underscores its integral role in the communities it serves. Investment in our pubs and our people is top priority and this will continue apace throughout the next financial year. 

“Significant turbulence remains with inflation still high, interest rates expected to rise further and staff recruitment still proving to be a major headache. However, our achievements over the past 12 months have paved the way for future growth. We enter the new financial year with strong trading momentum and confidence that we will continue to deliver on our strategy. 

“Hydes has a strong portfolio of sites which are all in excellent condition and trading well, a brewery producing increasing volumes across a range of quality beers and a dedicated and capable workforce throughout its pubs and at head office.”

Hydes operates nearly 50 pubs ranging from Lancaster in the North to Stoke-on Trent in the Midlands and across to North Wales including a wide selection of premium dining destination outlets, craft style bars and traditional community pubs. 

To find out more about Hydes Brewery visit https://www.hydesbrewery.com/.