Bath, England, United Kingdom
I spent seventeen years building The Bath Pub Company, from one underperforming pub in Bath to a multi-site group turning over £6m and employing around 150 people, before selling the company in 2023. Full P&L ownership throughout — strategy, operations, brand, the team, the eventual exit. Since 2024 I've been consulting, helping founders and leadership teams on strategy, growth, organisation design and AI adoption. I'm retained by Link Stone Advisory and Cool Ventures for hospitality board and business support work, and I mentor on Bath University's MBA programme and the government's Help to Grow scheme. I'm open to one or two non-executive appointments, particularly with founder-led or owner-managed businesses thinking about their next stage of growth — scaling, refinancing or working towards an exit. Before Bath I worked in advertising in London, on brand and marketing campaigns for Volkswagen, Bentley, Procter & Gamble and Sainsbury's. I'm at my best solving real operational and commercial problems alongside the people who own them — whether that's as a consultant, a board member, or back running something day to day.
I'm on the board advisory panel at Link Stone Advisory, available to provide board-level support to their clients — particularly in hospitality and leisure
I set up Yardstick after the BPC sale to work with founders and leadership teams on the challenges I know from the inside: business & marketing strategy, growth, financial management, organisation design and preparing for exit. Current and recent work includes: - Growth strategy and advisory for founder-led SMEs - AI adoption — helping leadership teams work out where AI adds genuine value and how to approach sensibly - Board advisory and business support work retained by Link Stone Advisory and Cool Ventures - Mentoring on Bath University's MBA programme and the government's Help to Grow scheme
I founded The Bath Pub Company in 2006 with a single underperforming pub in Bath and built it into one of the city's most respected independent hospitality groups — five sites, 150 employees and £6m in annual revenue — before selling it to St Austell Brewing in 2023. I held full P&L ownership throughout and led all parts of the business: site acquisition and refurbishment, operations, brand, finance, team building and ultimately the exit. Projects ranged from £200k to £500k. The management team grew to include an Operations Manager, Finance Manager, part-time FD and Commercial Director, with General Managers at each site. Our aim was simple: to run great pubs that people love to visit, and build a company that people love to work for — and I think we succeeded. The business won awards, had consistently high staff retention, and held its own against much larger operators. I ran the full exit process myself: initiated contact with the buyer, led the commercial negotiations, and managed legals and due diligence through to completion.
CNET are digital media publishers, specialising in tech articles & reviews. My role as marketing manager was primarily focused on their European Technology Forum division. During this period I developed the business case and launch plans for the forthcoming pub business.
Part of the BBDO global network owned by Omnicron, Proximity was one of the country’s leading direct marketing agencies. Developed and delivered campaigns for brands like Volkswagen, Bentley, Sainsbury's, and Procter & Gamble.