Greene King Pub Partners has rolled out its largest ever Christmas support package to tenants and licensees after its team travelled across the country to share exclusive deals and bring pub operators together with suppliers.
The Pub Partners team have worked tirelessly in recent months to put together a Christmas Roadshow, designed to help pubs offer an individually-tailored and high-quality Christmas to guests and become the destination of choice to celebrate the festive period.
The team hosted events in Doncaster, Edinburgh, Camberley and Royston, welcoming partners from more than 200 of its pubs around the country.
One of the partners to visit when the roadshow stopped at Royston’s Old Bull Inn was Hayley Pellegrini, who along with husband Steve has run Cambridge’s Portland Arms pub for the past 14 years and also took on another Greene King Pub Partners site, The Alex in Cambridge, two years ago.
“Steve and I go to a lot of trade shows and conferences to keep ourselves ahead of trends,” said Hayley. “Events like this are really good. We’ve brought our bar manager who has also got a lot out of it. He’s been able to meet people and get to know the suppliers and see some of the products. There were a couple of products we didn’t know were out and it’s a chance to see those as well.
“It’s massive to prepare ahead for Christmas and especially with having multiple sites you always have to plan ahead. You have to think, what do people want, what’s your competition doing and how can we do it better. It’s key to get out of your business for a morning and focus more on the overall plan.”
Partners had the chance to purchase exclusive, one-off deals on the day and also take advantage of key advice on the latest market trends and favourites.
There were also a range of suppliers on hand to discuss their products, ranging from drink, coffee, food and utilities supplies.
“It’s been really positive and we’ve had so much engagement,” said Natasha Crotty, Marketing Manager for Pub Partners. “People like to engage with the suppliers in their own time and by getting everyone together in one room we’re helping our pubs meet the key people that can benefit their business.”
John Forrest, Managing Director of Greene King Pub Partners, said: “The reaction we’ve had from these roadshows has been extremely positive and our partners were pleased we took their feedback on board last January.
“They asked us to offer extra support ahead of the Christmas season and we hope our roadshows have been the perfect response. We have spent the past few months working in partnership with various suppliers to put this all together.
“Running the event like this is much more personal and really gives tenants the chance to approach suppliers and see what they can offer their pub. We aim to work with the best partners but also to offer added-value support to help them become even better, and I’m confident events like this help us achieve this goal.”