Two divisions for Greene King managed pubs

March 30, 2007: Greene King is to reorganise its managed house operations into two divisions, to reflect the different trading styles of the pubs within the estate.

The two new divisions will be Local Pubs, made up of 510 predominantly community and town pubs, and Destination Pubs, made up of the 280 more branded, food-led pubs and hotels.

The latter will focus on the development and continued roll-out of centrally-developed, marketed and managed brands and formats, in larger destination-orientated sites. These sites will typically derive a high proportion of their revenue from food sales; many also have letting rooms.

In the Local Pubs division, by contrast, managers will be given greater autonomy and flexibility to match the individual pub offer to local market needs and opportunities. In the main, these pubs will be drinks-led, though with a growing food offer, and mostly in community and town-local locations.

Greene King has grown significantly both the quality and the size of its managed estate in recent years, in particular through the acquisitions of the Laurel neighbourhood estate and Hardys & Hansons. Over the last five years, Pub Company's sales have risen by two-thirds, and its trading profits have more than doubled.

The re-organisation will be complete by the end of April and will have no impact on Greene King's other divisions (Pub Partners, Brewing Company and Belhaven).

As part of the reorganisation Mark Angela will be leaving the company and stepping down from the board on April 16.

Jonathan Lawson (36) has been appointed managing director of Local Pubs and will become a member of the board. Jonathan has been retail operations director of Sainsbury's Convenience for the last three years, where he was responsible for delivering significant sales and profitability growth for the Sainsbury's Local and Central formats. Prior to this he held other retail positions at Sainsbury's, and at Asda and Marks & Spencer.

Jonathan Webster (45) will become managing director of Destination Pubs. Jonathan has over 20 years experience in the pub sector. He was chief executive of Hardys & Hansons plc when it was acquired by Greene King last year and has led its successful integration into the Greene King group.

Both Jonathan Lawson and Jonathan Webster will report to the chief executive, Rooney Anand.

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "Over the last few years, we have grown both the quality and the size of our managed estate and now have an enviable portfolio of pubs. Today's reorganisation represents an important step in ensuring this growth momentum can continue well into the future.

"Mark Angela has played a key role in the recent development of our managed pubs, particularly with the successful integration of Laurel, and he leaves with our very best wishes.

"I am delighted to welcome Jonathan Lawson to Greene King. The flair and local entrepreneurialism he brought to Sainsbury's convenience stores combined with his strong retail skills will bring a fresh and exciting perspective to our Local Pubs.

"At the same time, we have been impressed from the outset with the Hardys & Hansons team, especially their food development and operational skills, and I am therefore delighted that Jonathan Webster will be staying with us to lead Destination Pubs."