A family affair
Matthew Fletcher and Donice Sousa had always run their own businesses, including coffee and juice bars and renovating property, but always dreamt of running their own pub.
In 2006 they took the plunge at The Three Horseshoes in Boxmoor and set about giving the canal-side pub a new lease of life, replacing flooring, windows and the electrics, refurbishing the interior and installing a heated canopy.
In 2009, they were told that their pub had been bought by Charles Wells and were immediately afraid of the unknown. However, in the first month, they saw all the Board Directors and were invited to the Wells and Young’s brewery in Bedford to meet other members of the team. Their Retail Development Manager was on hand to talk them through the changes and despite their suspicions, began to see that the company could add some real value to their business.
Shortly afterwards, their son Jamie started to look for his own business and they felt confident enough to discuss a second pub with Charles Wells. “They were very honest about The Star” commented Matthew “as it was in a bad state of repair. But we both knew it had great potential and that we could build a successful business together.”
After just two months of getting to know Charles Wells, the family took The Star in Woodstock, tidied it up and opened as a bar only. Three months later, it closed for a two month refurbishment with considerable support and investment from Charles Wells. “We had to restore rotten floorboards, rewire, plaster the ceiling and replace whole joists” said Matthew “as well as developing the look and feel of the pub. The Charles Wells team was fantastic and swung into action like a well oiled machine. We had honest conversations about how it should look and kept the success of the pub and what our customer base would want as the prime focus. That collaborative approach made sure we got the best result possible and everybody benefits.”
“Despite our initial reservations, it’s been like a breath of fresh air working with Charles Wells Pub Company” said Matthew. “They’re very efficient and nothing ever seems to be too much trouble for them. We see our RDM regularly and have met a lot of the support team but we’re still finding out just how much additional help they offer. Their Wine Development Manager has recently helped us redesign our wine list and is helping with menu design and staff training and it’s great to work with people across a number of business areas who make decisions and help develop our trade.”
“Working with a family business has been a pleasant surprise and our relationship with Charles Wells is more like a partnership. They care about their property so invest in their pubs; care about the quality and choice of their beer range and react very quickly when improvements can be made. They also care about people – Jamie attended their five day CRISP induction and it was an excellent introduction to the industry, the company and how they work with licensees and we’ll be taking advantage of additional training places they’re providing for staff free of charge.”
So, what is this family’s assessment of Charles Wells? “Any misgivings we had at the beginning have been well and truly dispelled” said Matthew. “Charles Wells has a far more personal approach than we ever expected and have made things as easy as possible for us to work with them. We were sceptical about the awards that they’ve won but now we know how efficient and supportive they are, we understand fully why they deserve their accolades.”
With another son, David, starting to look for his own pub don’t bet against them keeping it in the family and taking another Charles Wells site!
