Appeal of Beales

12 November 2001 by
Appeal of Beales

The Beale family have been running their own business for eight generations and are still going strong. Jessica Gunn reports on what keeps a family business going for more than 200 years.

Adaptability is what seems to be the key to the longevity of the Beale family's success in the hospitality industry. Andrew Beale, managing director of Beales Hotels, represents the eighth generation of his family's business.

Some 232 years on from their humble beginnings, the Beales have just added to their collection a third hotel, the Buckingham Four Pillars in Hatfield, Hertfordshire (soon to be renamed the Buckingham Beales hotel), and have opened a luxury wing at their most profitable hotel, the four-star West Lodge Park in Cockfosters, north London.

It's unlikely that John Beale, in 1769 the first of the family to venture into the catering and hospitality business, could have envisaged what his small bakery shop and horse and cart on London's Oxford Street would eventually become. It is certainly doubtful that he ever imagined Beales Restaurants, a complex of banqueting rooms, restaurants, bakeries and shops housed in a large, Gothic-style building on London's Holloway Road which became known as "the Fortnum & Mason of north London".

Beales Restaurants thrived from 1866 to 1969, coming to an end only when Tim Sainsbury of the supermarket chain bought the property and knocked it down for his own purposes. The Beales did not disappear with the end of Beales Restaurants, however. By 1969, Ted Beale, grandfather of Andrew, had expanded their interests into the hotel industry, having bought their first Hertfordshire property, West Lodge Park, in 1945, followed by the Firs, offering conference facilities, in Winchmore Hill, north London, in 1960, and Hatfield Lodge hotel in 1964.

"Sometimes a family-run business can make it difficult to break out of a mould and move on," says Andrew Beale. "History can hold you back."

The business is still entirely family-owned, although the current chairman, Grevile Bridge, is the first non-family member to hold this post. "Every few years, we look at the merits of going public," says Beale. "We could make a lot of money by selling but, from a family point of view, there is too much heritage here."

Family heritage aside, the Beales have been around as long as they have because of their ability to change with the marketplace. "In the 1960s and 1970s, people belonged to clubs like the Rotary Club - it was part of society," says Beale. "At the time, it meant big banqueting business, but, in the past few decades, people don't have time to belong to such organisations."

The Beales adapted at first by trying to remarket themselves to the conference industry. When that didn't work, they sold their conference facilities at The Firs for £1.4m and invested in another hotel in its place. "Because West Lodge Park is in green-belt land," says Beale, "we couldn't grow very much there. For every square foot we built, we had to take one down." The solution was the acquisition of the 70-bedroom Buckingham Four Pillars. The new hotel, which opened in March this year, is currently averaging about £122,591 a month in sales for rooms, food, drink and leisure.

The 59-bedroom, four-star West Lodge Park, set in 35 acres of land (complete with arboretum), remains the jewel in the Beales crown. Overall turnover has risen from around £1.6m in 1990 to more than £3m in 2001. "We've almost doubled sales in the past two-and-a-half years," says Beale.

Success has not come without a strategy, of course. "Ten years ago, there were hardly any places similar to us in the area," says Beale. "Now, we have to fight for business." In order to retain its niche in the increasingly competitive market, West Lodge Park has pushed up its standards to compete with an influx of large chains such as Marriott and Forte. The Beales have invested around £600,000 at West Lodge Park in a new high-spec complex of guest rooms and a staff accommodation block.

The four new rooms built adjacent to the hotel will have air conditioning, a TV in the bathroom, and access to a shared hot tub in their separate quadrant. "We're not entirely sure yet what impact on sales things like air conditioning will have," says Bridge. "We do know that, when redeveloping, it's important to invest in the best quality to achieve lasting high standards."

West Lodge Park has also significantly increased its marketing efforts. Total marketing spend for the group in 2001 stands at £113,000. However, this figure represents only 1.8% of sales. "Ten years ago, we didn't even have a sales manager," says Beale in explanation. "This is a good increase from nothing." Beales Hotels now makes sure that it is represented at exhibitions, offers incentives to regular clients and targets local industry for corporate business.

Despite these efforts, revenue per available room at West Lodge Park has seen an average drop this year of 11.4%. "The top end of the market is starting to hurt a little, and people are cutting down," says Beale. Room occupancy has also seen a slight drop. "We are seeing a slight downturn in the corporate market," he says.

At West Lodge Park, monthly sales for 2001-02 have seen an average 1.9% decrease for food, drink, accommodation and leisure. Average room rates have increased from £83.51 to £84.86 over the same period.

The Beales do not appear to be overly worried, however. Room occupancy for the 37-bedroom Hatfield Lodge hotel has increased by 3.5% for 2001-02 from 2000-01, and has risen by 0.7% at the Buckingham Four Pillars hotel. Combined sales for rooms, food and drink and leisure have also gone up at the two hotels over the same period, by 4.9% (from £367,618 to £385,514) and 6.3% (from £657,517 to £698,618) respectively. Revenue per available room at the Hatfield Lodge has risen by 8.1%, and by 16.9% at the Buckingham Four Pillars.

One thing West Lodge Park in particular profits from is a long-standing and loyal staff. "One of our chefs has been with us for 30 years," he says, "and one of our wine waiters for 25 years." Beales Hotels makes a point of nurturing staff, and not only through favourable remuneration - it was one of the first hotels to be approved by Investors in People and Excellence through People.

Beale, who was general manager at West Lodge Park before becoming managing director, remains steadfast at the forefront of his family's now-historic business. "Stepping into the shoes of members of your own family can be tough," he says thoughtfully, "but I think we're moving forward. We're not growth-oriented exactly, only organically so."

When asked whether he would like to see any of his three children follow in the family footsteps and carry on the business after he retires, Beale just laughs. "There was never any pressure on me to come into the business," he says. "I just want my children to be happy."

Beales Hotels

Hatfield Lodge
Comet Way, Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Tel: 01707 288500
E-mail:
beales_hatfieldlodge@compuserve.com

Buckingham Four Pillars
A421 Buckingham Ring Road, Buckingham
Tel: 01208 822622
E-mail:
buckingham@four-pillars.co.uk

West Lodge Park hotel
Cockfosters Road, Hadley Wood, near Barnet, Hertfordshire EN4 0PY
Tel: 020 8216 3900www.bealeshotels.co.uk

Managing director: Andrew Beale
Group turnover: 2002, £6m; 2001, £4.6m; 1998, £4m
Food as percentage of group sales: 34%
Drink as percentage of group sales: 15.2%
Number of rooms, West Lodge Park: 59
Rack rate, West Lodge Park: from £135 (double room)
Room occupancy: 2000-01, 78.1%; 2001-02, 68.1%
Average room rate, West Lodge Park: 2000-01, £83.51; 2001-02, £84.86

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking