Caterer and Hotelkeeper 100: Tim Martin, JD Wetherspoon
Overall ranking: 7 (ranked 14 in 2010)
Pub ranking: 1 (ranked 1 in 2010)
Tim Martin: Snapshot
Tim Martin is the founder of managed pub operator JD Wetherspoon, which has around 750 outlets. After serving as executive chairman since 1983, Martin moved into the role of non-executive chairman in 2004, with John Hutson running the business on a day-to-day basis as chief executive.
In his role as a roving ambassador for both his own business and the great British pub in general, Martin has become one of the industry’s best known and most widely quoted figures, unafraid to criticise politicians of any party when their policies impact on business.
In the six months to 23 January 2011, JD Wetherspoon reported operating profit up 1.4% to £49.6m, on turnover up 7.6% to £525.4m.
Tim Martin: Career guide
Born in 1955, Tim Martin opened the first Wetherspoon pub when he was just 24 – infamously borrowing the surname from a school teacher who had told him he wouldn’t amount to much. In 1992 he floated the Wetherspoon business on the London Stock Market.
Having allegedly promised – or threatened - to take a back seat in the business at one stage, Martin continuously monitors standards in his pubs, as well as regularly weighing into the political arena to protest at ever-stricter regulation of the trade.
The Wetherspoon business is a tribute to the notion that hard work, high standards and the occasional flash of inspiration can work wonders. The initial “no-music, no TV” format has been relaxed enough to allow managers at the pubs 790 sites to make their own decisions, although there is still strong head office control.
The format has also proven flexible enough to allow Wetherspoon to become a big player in the breakfast and coffee market, with its pubs opening earlier to catch trade. Weekly curry clubs and steak nights offer great value food, while regular beer festivals provide an important market for smaller brewers.
Tim Martin: What we think
There must be those in the Government who see Tim Martin as a natural ally, a self-made entrepreneur who has carved out a successful business which continues to grow despite the recession.
However, when asked for his verdict on the Coalition one year on, Martin warned against “killing the golden goose” that delivers billions in revenue to the government and repeated calls, unwelcome in Treasury circles, for excise and VAT rates to be reduced to French levels.
Martin’s distance from the day-to-day running of the business he founded frees him to take a lead on such industry issues. Wetherspoon’s company results are eagerly anticipated by the City press because it’s always a safe bet that Martin will express a view that will generate good copy.
In another recent interview, he scathingly dismissed the current crop of politicians as “dinner party-goers, not goer-outers.” However much the powers-that-be might hope to dismiss Martin as a court jester figure, the reality is that he has passion for pubs and is genuinely concerned that a combination of factors, from high taxes to crippling bureaucracy, is undermining their place in the social fabric of the nation.
The business consistently wins awards and accolades for its training, and with some justification it has been observed that most of the industry benefits from Wetherspoon’s investment in robust induction and ongoing training as staff move on.
None of this helps endear Martin to his peers, who find the product range, prices and operational standards at Wetherspoon hard to compete with. Martin has never worried about industry acclaim, though. Plans for around 50 more new pubs in the current financial year, and a similar figure next year, suggest his approach continues to pay off.
Tim Martin’s ranking in the 2010 Caterersearch.com 100 >>
Tim Martin’s verdict on the coalition >>
Wetherspoon tackling tough economic climate >>
Tim Martin profile in HR magazine >>
JD Wetherspoon website >>