TGt Meets... Laurence Beere

As part of our Entrepreneur Week Specials, we've been speaking to Laurence Beere from The Olive Tree and Queensberry Hotel.

Tell us a little bit more about your business?

THE OLIVE TREE
Proud to be one of Bath's longest established independent restaurants, The 3 AA Rosette Olive Tree, nestled in the basement of The Queensberry Hotel continues to receive rapturous praise from guests and locals alike. This contemporary British restaurant offers deformalised fine dining under the direction of award winning Head Chef, Chris Cleghorn, who honed his superior skills as the protégé of a trio of world-renowned Michelin Star chefs, (Heston Blumenthal, Michael Caines, Adam Simmonds). Using a combination of classical flavours with modern cooking techniques, Chris creates his own unique style, crafting seasonal menus that showcase the very best of British.

THE QUEENSBERRY HOTEL
Great hotels are about so much more than ticking boxes. We know that the human side – what we’re like, how we make you feel – transcends box-ticking. Guest feedback bears this out: attentive, polite, professional and friendly, from the moment we park your car on arrival to when you check out. (And award judges agree). So take for granted our free things, our award-winning three AA stars restaurant and fantastic location. The fact is, we love Bath and we love this job; our special team works hard to make your stay feel just that. And because we’re independent, there’s no remote head office or CEO reporting to shareholders; there’s just us, here, doing our best for you. All this makes a difference, and it’s a difference we’re sure you’ll notice.

What inspired you to set up your business?

I trained and grew up in the larger corporate end of luxury hospitality. But as I got older the kind of property and business that drew me in more and more was the small bespoke, personal end of the business. The enjoyment of hands on contact with our hotel, our team and our guests is so much where I derive pleasure in running our business.

In 2003 the opportunity to acquire our own business was almost too good to be true and despite the myriad of challenges caused by the economic turmoil of the last five years let alone the deterioration in the quality of bank support I still gain immense pleasure every day from standing back and looking at our business and the fantastic team that support us and thinking “We did that!”

Although I would not say that it was always a burning ambition to own our own business when I was young and starting my career, I do recall very clearly listening to Robin Hutson talk at a General Managers conference in London about what had inspired him when he set about developing Hotel du Vin with Gerard Basset. His passion for wanting to offer value and quality to challenge the middle market of British Hospitality made so much sense and stayed with me as we set about developing our business.

At the same time I hold the utmost admiration for Tim and Kit Kemp who own the Firmdale Group of hotels and have taken inspiration not only from the style of their properties and the standards they set, but strength from the challenges they have faced to continue to fight and strive to better our own business.

What do you think attracts people to starting their own business?

I think that people become attracted to the idea of owning or running their own business for many different reasons. From those who are young with a burning ambition to do something for themselves to perhaps an older individual who sees the chance to change a career or take on ownership of a business but not necessarily be involved day to day.

In our case it was more circumstance that drove our path. I had taken redundancy from a company I had worked for as I did not like the new owners that were coming in and I wanted to stay in Bath. A chance conversation with the previous owners of The Queensberry Hotel, and four months later we had bought our own business. I would not say that I had a burning entrepreneurial spirit, however 13 years on I cannot see myself working back in a corporate role!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced? What’s the biggest challenge facing business leaders today?

The biggest challenge that we have faced in the last five years has been the breakdown of proper banking relations at a time when SME’s probably needed a positive and supportive bank the most. Instead of being able to work with your bank where there was a vested interest in the success of the business we, like many others we found ourselves being bullied by our bank in a way that was damaging and potentially destructive for the business.

This break down in relationships meant that at a time when all the attention in the business should have been focused on the development of the hotel and restaurant as well as the team who make it so special, we found ourselves having to make decisions to satisfy a bank that had a clearly stated position that was not supportive of the business.

Going forward I think that builder better relations with banks that understand the needs of SME’s is the biggest challenge that entrepreneurs will face in order to secure backing and support that will assist in the growth and development of business.

Do you have a motto or favourite motivational quote?

“Anyone can be a busy fool!”

What advice would you give someone looking to take the plunge and start a business?

Probably learning from our own mistakes, making sure that we had enough Capital to support and achieve our aims and sufficient cashflow to meet the needs of the business is the most important lesson.

When writing business plans, be brutally honest with yourself. Do not make your projections and assumptions based upon the upside, be a pessimist and budget to the worst case scenario. It is easier to adapt and change positively because the sun is shining, rather than to cut and retrench because it is raining heavily!

What’s been your biggest achievement to date?

Getting closer to the holy grail of “Work, Life Balance!” As a young man I believe I got this very wrong and put work and career above family and personal time. However I learnt from personal experience that you can be just as dedicated and achievement orientated whilst spending quality time with family and friends.

In the end I believe that through better balance I am a better business person as I am happier in all that I do.

When you’re not busy running your business, how do you like to spend your down time?

Quality time spent with my wife children and dog are the first priority. After that the next passion in my life is being a Somerset County Rugby Referee.

Having coached rugby for many years I became a referee three years ago. Most weekends you will find me running around with a whistle in my hands. The benefits are numerous, from the motivation it provides to keep fit to the opportunity to clear my head of the stress and pressure of work.