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Sarah Barron, business development manager, pub partners

Originally from the north east, Pub Partners Business Development Manager, Sarah Barron, relocated ‘home’ as the pandemic hit – just in time to help anxious tenants.

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The pandemic was a whirlwind for me. In early 2020 I was working as a business development manager (BDM) for Pub Partners in the south east region, but I wanted to move back to the north east to be closer to family. So, when pub closures were announced I was packing to move back into my house up north that I’d been renting out. But the people living there had other ideas and refused to leave. In a pandemic, there was nothing I could do. I had to find somewhere to rent temporarily, but was unable to go and view properties. It was so stressful.

Meanwhile my phone was going day and night with calls from anxious tenants. People were in a panic and I was effectively running two areas as my old region didn’t have a replacement BDM. I couldn’t turn my back on my old pubs, but I also had a duty to my new team, many of whom I’d never met. I took calls at midnight, while stressed about moving and talking to solicitors about my own situation.

Individual approach

In that first week of closures, I had tenants asking: what will you do about my rent? We had some criticism early doors for not offering support quickly enough. But we had to wait for government grants to be announced, and then work out what our rent support would be. Unfortunately, the grant system varied greatly: some pubs got £25,000, some £10,000 and others nothing. We offered everyone an individual financial assessment within the first 12 weeks of lockdown to work out the level of need.

These assessments were an in-depth profit and loss analysis of every single pub. It meant BDMs arranging phone appointments to go through the books together and asking questions like: what does it cost you to run a closed pub for 12 weeks; what commitments do you have; are you eligible for a grant and what do you need from us, in terms of support? I did more than 80 of these assessments in three weeks and once people knew it was a staged process in accordance with government help, they felt a lot happier.

What people don’t always appreciate about working with the leased and tenanted part of the business is that we’re landlords, and while BDMs are here to advise, we’re dealing with self-employed people running their own businesses. So, every tenant has their own financial situation with different capabilities and skill sets – and it’s diverse – I deal with everything from a backstreet boozer to a pub that does really high-quality food.

Consequently, I had some difficult conversations, but it helped that I’ve run pubs and worked in the industry for 25 years, so I understand the pressures and personalities involved.

Personal touch

Sadly, my area was very badly affected by Covid-19. Some tenants were unable to reopen in July 2020; they were either very ill with coronavirus or undergoing cancer treatment and shielding or self-isolating. And when the government announced the tier system in November 2020, we experienced very tough restrictions. At that time Greene King moved to offering support in line with what tier a pub was in. Again, we offered up to 90% rent concessions and did this quicker, and for longer, than many of our competitors.

What also helped were the rapid comms put out by our central commercial manager, Yvonne Fraser. They were phenomenal and kept people fully up to speed with government updates. Yvonne also created a spreadsheet of frequently asked questions which she updated and distributed to BDMs daily, so we could answer questions as they arose. I truly believe that things like that made a huge difference to the way people felt.

We also saw a lot of bonding between tenants. We started Zoom meetings and WhatsApp groups to share knowledge, ask questions and offer support – which was great because many tenants had never met. It was heartwarming to see the rapport grow. When there was a partial reopening of pubs for those with large enough gardens in April 2021 WhatsApp went crazy with good luck messages for those able to open. One partner even travelled a fair distance to go and support another partner who’d taken on her first pub in the midst of a pandemic!

I also felt incredibly supported by both the company and my colleagues and was proud of Greene King’s response. So much so that I emailed Nick Mackenzie to tell him and was delighted to get an email back. That tells you everything you need to know about how this business is run. And now I’m finally back in my house and raring to help my region grow. It’s great to be home.