Punch Taverns - The Career That Packs A Punch
Helen and Andrew Mason both had good careers at Asda until they decided they needed a lifestyle that allowed them more flexibility. They were heavily reliant on family members to ferry their one-year-old daughter Taela around as they worked long hours and spent considerable time commuting.
A bereavement in the family prompted the couple to start to consider an alternative career. “It made us re-evaluate everything, “says Helen, who worked in colleague relations during her eight years at the supermarket before taking redundancy.
“I was brought up in the pub trade and swore I’d never take a pub. But then we thought about what we could do as an alternative career and where there were transferable skills – a career that allowed us to see our children every day.”
The couple, both in their early 30s at the time, began to search for a pub to run. They gained experience operating their first pub but felt they were too far away from their family. Then they spotted the Telmere Lodge, located in Hasland, near Chesterfield. They knew the venue had a lot of potential – and it was close to family members.
“There’s not a lot of venues in Chesterfield that cater for the family market - and I knew the Telmere would be a cracking place for families to bring their children. I phoned up the owner Punch Taverns and said, “I’d like to take it on.”
Good Investment
Punch invested £40,000 in re-launching the Telmere and allowed the Masons to move into the pub in a way that didn’t mean they had to come up with, in Helen’s words, a “massive investment”.
All that was four years ago and now Helen and Andrew have taken a longer lease on the Telmere Lodge. “We’ve done a lot of work ourselves on the pub, looking to steadily build trade by re-investing.” says Helen.
The couple has added a second child, Rilea, to the family and Helen’s mum lives on site with them, helping in the business. Andrew focuses on front-of-house and the kitchen while Helen spends her time on marketing, recruitment, training and book-keeping. “I have the flexibility to do the VAT return any time I want,” says Helen. “A business like this allows us to see our kids – it’s a lifestyle choice.”
The Telmere Lodge has found its market as a destination food venue, with meals accounting for the majority of its turnover. And ironically, the couple’s business relationship manager Matthew Gaunt from Punch has a fair bit in common with them – he had a ten-year career with Somerfield before deciding the pub trade offered more career opportunities. Matthew joined Punch four years ago at about the same time Helen and Andrew moved into the Telmere.
On Punch Taverns, Helen says: “I’d recommend them to anyone – it’s a company that give you lots of back-up and support.”
Punch Taverns - Jubilee House, Second Avenue, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire DE14 2WF
Recruitment & Lettings 0844 848 3264
