News
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2 May 12 Brakspear is seeking a Retail and Digital Marketing Manager Close
Brakspear is seeking a Retail and Digital Marketing Manager
Job Title: Retail and Digital Marketing Manager
Location: Henley on Thames
Salary: circa £35,000 - £40,000
Industry sector: Hospitality Marketing
Job Type: Permanent, Full Time.
Vacancy Start date: July 2012
Company Information: Brakspear is a delightful family run pub company with over 140 pub tenancies and leases throughout affluent areas of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and the South East. Our determination to give the best quality support to our operators means that we are searching for the best quality candidate to fill this important role within our small friendly team.
Job Description: As Retail and Digital Marketing Manager, your objective will be to grow the company sales and profits by developing and implementing marketing initiatives across our 140 individual pubs.
Important aspects of the role include:
Developing pub segment templates and creating generic segment promotions
Working with individual pub operators to develop their marketing activity
Managing the point of sale (POS) budgets from our suppliers as well as managing the marketing budget
Working with key suppliers to set up marketing plans which support their brand and our outlets
Work closely with the Business Development Managers to deliver retail marketing solutions to their pubs
Manage measurement system for Retail Standards
Take responsibility for the Buzz Magazine (our quarterly tenant communication) and other publications such as our guide book
Develop and implement Marketing Training strategy for tenants
Management of the Brakspear Website
Continue the development of our accommodation booking system
Develop and help deliver licensee web strategy
Develop and deliver electronic media strategy for company and licensees (such as Facebook and Twitter)
Management and understanding of Google Adwords
Work closely with our Recruitment manager to help maximise recruitment marketing opportunities
To manage our event and sponsorship support
You will need a "can do" approach and a helpful hands on attitude, as well as great attention to detail and excellent communication skills at all levels. You will need a qualification in marketing and/or sufficient marketing experience. Knowledge of pub tenancies, and previous experience in marketing pub or hospitality businesses is desirable, but not essential.
Our offices are based in Henley on Thames, but our pubs are spread throughout the South East. We would expect you to travel to pubs when and where required.
If you are ready to take on the challenge in this all important role, and can work with a small team, often under timescale pressures then send us your CV today.
Please send your CV and a short cover note to gill@brakspear.co.uk
All CV's should be with us by 5pm on Friday 18th May. Interviews will take place in late May.
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2 April 12 A new eye for design at Brakspear Open
A new eye for design at Brakspear
Brakspear has appointed Stephanie Dennett to the new role of interior designer, offering advice and practical help for tenants to make improvements to their pub's decor.
Dennett is working with new and existing tenants on design projects, which range from advice on making optimum use of the space in their pub to guidance on colour schemes and help with more complex refurbishments. Her advice is free of charge to tenants, who also benefit from company-wide discounts secured with a number of suppliers.
Tom Davies, Brakspear's chief executive, said, "The look and feel of a pub has such an impact on customers' perceptions these days, that it's hugely important to get it right.
"Understandably, not all our tenants have a flair for interior design, and sadly a poor redecoration job costs as much, if not more, than a great one. By tapping into Stephanie's creativity, expertise and contacts, tenants can make a big improvement to their pub and give it standout from the competition - something that is doubly important in today's challenging pub market."
Dennett said, "Many tenants have told me they wouldn't know where to start on choosing colour schemes, or finding new furniture, so they're delighted with the new design service. Instead of spending hours looking through fabric swatches or furniture catalogues, they can get on with running their pub, so we're saving them valuable time, and in most cases money as well."
As part of the service, Dennett is building a collection of furniture and bric-a-brac that can be offered to tenants as part of a refurbishment. She says, "Finding the right pieces is often what makes a redesign complete, but it's time-consuming. This way, I can view a pub and know that I've already got something in the store that will be perfect."
Before joining Brakspear, Dennett worked in residential design. Pub design allows her greater creative latitude, as she explains, "Customers will enjoy a bold colour scheme or unusual wallpaper for a couple of hours in the pub, but would probably choose something less 'out there' to live with every day at home. You can definitely be a lot braver in pubs and create a real impact."
Dennett has already worked on several projects including The Cherry Tree in Kingston Blount, The Four Horseshoes at Checkendon, The Butchers Arms at Sonning Common and The Old Bell in Henley.
One of the tenants to have benefited from Dennett's service is Vicky Taylor at the Four Horseshoes,in Checkendon, who opened the pub with partner Chris Rainey in early March. She said, "Stephanie has been an absolute star. We are delighted with the design of our pub and receive nothing but favourable comments on it from customers.
"When we moved to the pub, Chris and I knew the look we wanted. Stephanie's design expertise meant that she could tell us how to achieve it. For example, she suggested we break up the restaurant and bar areas with a new snug, which people love. And she suggested bookcase-effect paper for a feature wall that we wouldn't have thought of ourselves, but looks fantastic.
"Without Stephanie's help, I'm sure we'd have spent far more time on the refurbishment, but not been as happy with the end result. We think it's great that this advice was given to us free as new Brakspear tenants and it's given us a real head start in developing our business."
Brakspear owns great pubs to rent, tenancies, leases, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire and other parts of the south-east and south Midlands.
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6 March 12 Brakspear Tax Free Beer Day hailed ‘a huge success’ Open
Brakspear Tax Free Beer Day hailed ‘a huge success’
Brakspear has hailed its Tax Free Beer Day, held on 28th February, as a huge success for the 10 Henley pubs taking part in it, for drinkers in the town and more widely for the pub industry's campaign to bring an end to punitive beer taxation.
On the day, the 10 participating pubs sold Brakspear Bitter, Oxford Gold, Kronenbourg, Foster's and Heineken at a discount of £1.30 - the amount of tax on a pint sold for £3.10. Beer sales in these pubs are estimated to have been around twice the amount sold on the same Tuesday in 2011 and some1,000 customers have signed the in-pub petitions calling for a freeze on beer duty and a reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector.
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said, "Tax Free Beer Day achieved our objective for it, namely highlighting to our customers in Henley and further afield the amount of tax they pay on beer. The increase in sales seen by our tenants indicates just how the current levels of taxation are affecting people's ability to afford a pint in the pub.
"Lower taxation would encourage people back into the pub, protecting more of them from closure and creating jobs to cater for the increase in trade. And, most importantly at this time of high youth unemployment, pubs could generate jobs for young adults: around half of the pub trade's employees are 18-24-year-olds." A freeze in beer duty would create an estimated 16,000 jobs in pubs and related industries over the next three years.
He added, "If Brakspear can generate this level of interest and support on its own, imagine how much more could be achieved if other brewers and pub companies joined us by running similar campaigns in other parts of the country? We'd certainly be able to raise the 100,000 signatures needed to force a debate on beer tax in the House of Commons, which would be a great result for pubs and pubgoers."
The participating pubs were: Little Angel, Angel on the Bridge, Rowbarge, Three Tuns, Old Bell, Rose & Crown, Saracens Head, Beer Tree, Three Horseshoes and The Anchor
Caption to attached image, courtesy of Henley Standard: tenants from some of the Brakspear's Henley pubs (l-r) Colin Roberson (Saracens Head; Doug Green (Little Angel); Mark Dunlop (Angel on the Bridge); Sandra Duggan (Three Tuns); Gary & Lisa Ion-Savage (Anchor); Jolyon Miller (Row Barge) with chief executive Tom Davies (far right)
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29 February 12 Brakspear Tax Free Beer Day in the news Open
Brakspear Tax Free Beer Day in the news
Brakspear's Tax Free Beer Day on Tuesday 28th February attracted plenty of media interest in and around Henley. Click on the links below to see or listen to some of the coverage:
Video interview with the Henley Standard
http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=37337
Interview on BBC Radio Berkshire (listen to Tom Davies at 22 minutes into the piece and to Mark Dunlop at 1hr 19 mins):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00p29y6/Andrew_Peach_28_02_2012/
Interview on BBC Radio Oxford (starts at 9 minutes in):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00p032j/Malcolm_Boyden_28_02_2012/
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16 February 12 Brakspear pubs to stage Tax-Free Beer Day in Henley Open
Brakspear pubs to stage Tax-Free Beer Day in Henley
Ten Brakspear pubs in Henley are to stage a Tax-Free Beer Day on Tuesday 28th February, as a way of highlighting the punitive taxation on beer in the run up to next month's Budget and encouraging the town's drinkers to sign a petition calling for a more pub-friendly tax regime.
From opening to last orders, all the pubs will be selling pints of Brakspear Bitter, Kronenbourg and Fosters at £1.30 off their normal selling price - usually around £3.20 - £3.30 for a pint of Brakspear. Beer duty, VAT and other taxes together add around £1.30 to a pint of beer, turning what should be one of life's affordable pleasures into an irregular treat for many people and contributing to pub closures.
Brakspear, with other pub operators and brewers across the country, has been lobbying the Chancellor for more sympathetic treatment in the 2012 Budget. Lower taxation would help to rebalance the difference between pub and supermarket beer prices, encourage people back into their local and save an estimated 16,000 jobs over the next few years.
Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, said, "The great British pub has been hammered by beer duty and VAT increases, while the recession has forced people to cut down on leisure spending. It's no surprise that pubs are struggling, and we applaud the Henley Standard's 'Drink Local' campaign to help keep pubs open."
"Not only are pub closures bad for the economy, they're also bad for society: pubs are the home of responsible, supervised drinking where beer, a low alcohol drink, is enjoyed as part of a social interaction. This is far preferable to the uncontrolled consumption on park benches, frequently accompanied by antisocial behaviour, of higher alcohol drinks purchased from supermarkets.
"Taxes now make up a staggering 40% of the price of a pint of beer in the pub. Our Tax-Free Beer Day is designed to demonstrate to Henley's residents that the price of a pint in the pub is not dictated solely by the publican or by Brakspear. We hope it encourages more people to enjoy a pint or two in their Brakspear 'local' and inspires them to sign our petition to help protect these pubs.
Mark Dunlop, tenant at The Angel on the Bridge, said, "This is a great way of highlighting the tax burden that pubs have to bear. We'd love to sell Brakspear at this price every day - it would make us much more competitive with the supermarkets and we'd sell more beer. We'll certainly be encouraging our customers to sign the petition."
The participating pubs are: Little Angel, Angel on the Bridge, Rowbarge, Three Tuns, Old Bell, Rose & Crown, Saracens Head, Beer Tree, Three Horseshoes and The Anchor
BEER TAX - THE FACTS
Since 2004, beer duty rates have increased by over 50% - but the revenue to the Government from beer duty has increased by only 10%
Beer consumption has fallen by 23% over the same period
Britain levies 40 per cent of the entire EU beer duty bill, and over five times more beer tax in total, than the biggest beer market, Germany
A more favourable tax regime would save an estimated 16,000 jobs in pubs, brewing and related industries between now and 2015
Notes to editors
Figures quoted in this release are based on CAMRA's 'Briefing on Beer Tax 2012', which calculates tax as contributing £1.30 to the cost of a pint of beer priced at £3.10, made up of:Excise duty: 48p
VAT: 52p
Employment tax: 18p
Business rates: 12p
Brakspear pubs in Henley are encouraging customers to sign a petition to the Government. This "declares that the British pub is a vital part of local communities and their business must be supported. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons halt plans to increase beer tax in the on trade. The petitioners further request that the House of Commons cut VAT to 5% in the hospitality sector to support jobs and local businesses."
Caption to image, right: Tom Davies, Brakspear chief executive, with £1.80 - the price of a pint of Brakspear on Tax Free Beer Day
For further information on any of the above news stories, or to obtain a high-resolution image, please contact our PR consultant Ros Shiel on
07841 694137 or ros@shielcomms.co.uk.