18 City & Business 19 The big interview: Gavin George “It’s possible that what we do will “The council recognises the work only in Brighton. Certainly I My kind of pub licensed trade is integrated with the don’t think we would have been as economy and culture of the city. It In Brighton we trust successful elsewhere. Brighton is “I like creative, quirky, realises that if licensing policy unique, I think. It’s the creativity of cool places, the bars becomes too draconian it would Gavin George is not your normal, run-of-the-mill pub entrepreneur. As Phil Mellows the people who live here. It’s cosmo- around Shoreditch for have an impact on the entire city.” politan, bohemian.” instance. And there He’s worried, though, about the discovers, he is an eco-aware culture vulture obsessed with his adopted seaside city Three years ago Zelgrain merged has to be a sense of Government’s proposed licensing with the remnants of what had been community, friendliness reforms. its main competitor, C-Side, to form and fun. “I’m someone who likes to keep ust forget for a minute what boss of the company that, over the tion being the Mesmerist on the site modest to a fault, he’s not your usual InnBrighton. Two C-Siders joined “My local is the Stand my head down but the current re- you thought you knew about past 15 years, has done more than of what used to be an Old Orleans pub entrepreneur. the board, chairman Gary Pettet, ex- Up Inn at Lindfield, balancing is a bigger threat than the British pub industry and any other to shape the city’s unique bar-restaurant. It’s a big space and its Like so many others, he came to Slug & Lettuce and PoNaNa, and near Haywards Heath, anything that’s happened before. its movers and shakers. pub culture — and is now its domi- two floors cost £350,000 to refit. Brighton as a student and fell in love finance director Martin Swindon. a Dark Star Brewing There are so many angles to it, it J You’re in Brighton now, and nant force. “It takes some filling,” sighs with the place. His skills were in mar- “I didn’t really know the market Co pub. That’s all about could prove so costly, and it gives this is Gavin George. InnBrighton operates 43 pubs in George, looking worried. Or at least keting, but he was swiftly disillu- outside of Brighton before that,” the beer, but Dark Star substantial new powers to local Brighton is different, and so is the Brighton and Hove, the latest addi- pensive. Quiet, publicity-shy and sioned when he landed a job as mar- George admits. “I’ve learnt a lot has a similar ethos to us, councils. We rely on their goodwill, keting director for a London plc. from them.” I think.” so I just have to hope the relation- “I’d always seen marketing as Last year InnBrighton bought the ship will continue.” creative, but everything we did four pubs it leased from Punch, Meanwhile, “business is very Key dates was scrutinised by the City and and two-thirds of the estate is take some of that responsibility off robust and we’re trading well,” looked at purely in terms of the now freehold, the remainder leased their shoulders.” George reports. 1992 impact it would have on the share from Enterprise. “There are parts of Brighton and Gavin George leaves Brighton price. It took the creativity out of it. The danger in having so many here are also certain We’re not recession- Hove we’re still not represented in Polytechnic with a degree in I stuck it for a year.” pubs in such a tight geographical principles that hold the proof, but the culture and we have the support of banks to business management and By then, George was already a area, of course, is cannibalisation, group together, the three here is different to buy freeholds. Or we could do more spends seven years in various sleeping partner in a friend’s pub but InnBrighton has come up with Cs — climate, community like the Mesmerist, which is a sale senior marketing roles in the IT business, Zelgrain. It had the lease a solution. and culture. anywhere I’ve been and leaseback with an investor. industry T for the Mash Tun, a Brighton legend “We started by telling pubs what “We’ve had the same three objec- “I’m older now and I rely on and the model for a new kind of pub we wanted, but as we grew we tives since the word go,” says George. younger people to create what’s 1996 that would come to characterise the couldn’t do that without homog- “We’ve carbon-balanced our sites by right for their generation. But Peter Invests in pubco start-up city’s vibrant trade. enisation. Now we engage 40-plus planting trees in Uganda since before meant the company was operating Bennett still does all the refits, and Zelgrain with friend Peter The partner, Peter Bennett, a hos- contractors to individually manage carbon-balancing was well-known. It clubs for the first time. It was a I do the positioning statement Bennett, acquiring the lease on pitality specialist with a talent for the pubs. They are all limited com- was something I wanted to do. great boost that came with added for the pub — the people, the feel, the Mash Tun design, remains as InnBrighton’s panies that have to build sales to “Pubs should be the centre of responsibility. the products.” estates director. succeed. They have to be very crea- their communities so they should “Having the clubs on the seafront After leading a modernist revolu- 1999 “I met Peter in a pub in my lunch- tive and stay one step ahead of support good causes — though we means we have about 1,000 covers tion, he now detects “a swing back to Zelgrain buys Original Pub break. We got talking and we were the competition. don’t trumpet it. on terraces outside, so when we get real ale and tradition”. InnBrighton’s Holdings and trebles in size to both interested in the idea of turning “We did it out of necessity. You “And culture. This is such a great a good summer the footfall is pubs have become a showcase for 24 pubs. George becomes something traditional into some- can’t dictate the feel of a place. We set city, for eating and drinking, for phenomenal. Sussex-brewed cask beers, and the managing director thing contemporary. some standards, but the magic comes ideas and creativity. Two of our pubs “What we did, though, was to make group now has its own exclusive “We were lambasted by the local from them. And I’m pleased to say have theatres, we have live music, them more Zelgrain, to integrate brand, Brighton Best, from micro- 2002 LVA and the press, but the Mash Tun they’re fantastic, they’ve really taken gallery spaces and comedy spaces. them culturally with the rest of brewer WJ King. Wins Sussex Business Award was successful as soon as we opened ownership of their sites. “It’s not a commercial thing for us. Brighton and turn them into multi- “It’s worrying that the cuts might for Environmental Awareness the doors.” “With the right people I believe We’ve continued to run sites at huge purpose venues with comedy, live have an impact on people’s pro- for reducing and compensating you can make anything work. Every losses because they’re important to music and films. pensity to spend, but Brighton is a the company’s carbon footprint he business grew to eight location in Brighton is a good one the culture of the city and we didn’t “It’s worked really well. It’s party town and pubs have always houses, and in 1999 it and there are a lot of inventive want them turned into residential changed the feel of the seafront. It’s been a big part of the culture,” 2005 took over a pubco twice people here.” sites or restaurants.” more bohemian, more linked with George concludes. “People still like Acquires eight sites from C-Side its size, Original Pub It sounds like fun, but George is What sets George and InnBrighton the rest of the city. It’s safer, too, a to go out and they like to be chal- Holdings, which had also aware of the risks. “Legislation and apart is this genuine commitment to more pleasant place. There’s a lower lenged by their surroundings. 2007 T grown on the back of discarded the chance of losing your licence the locality and an acute under- number of incidents now.” “We’re not recession-proof, but Backed by Graphite Capital, brewery pubs. George joined full- could easily take the edge off a man- standing of the wider impact an And an appreciation of the inter- the culture here is different to any- Zelgrain and C-Side merge to time as MD and the expansion con- ager’s creativity. So we employ some- operator of its size it can have. dependence of Brighton and its pubs where I’ve been, and I’m hopeful create InnBrighton. George tinued. Attempts to take the Zelgrain one to audit compliance quarterly, to For instance, the C-Side merger works in both directions, it seems. we’ll ride it out.” becomes chief executive model to other towns along the coast, 2009 though, invariably failed.