Farringdon opening breaks Grand Union records

Multiple London bar operator Grand Union is toasting the success of the launch of its latest site in Farringdon, which has been the most successful in the group’s five-year history with a 20% increase in spend per head compared with previous openings.

The company’s operations team managed to completely revamp the pub in just four days ahead of the launch.

Operations director and co-owner of the GU Group, Adam Saword, said: “The set-up in Farringdon has been incredibly pain-free. Using the experience we have gained from opening ten previous sites has enabled the whole team to work efficiently and effectively to totally revamp the site in such a short time.”
 
Adam Marshall, managing director, added: “The success of Farringdon is down to offering customers something a little bit different – we’ve combined the best bits of a restaurant, a pub and a club to create a real destination venue.

“Delivering that experience every time is down to our outstanding operations team who have done an amazing job pulling everything together in just four days.”
 
For the Farringdon launch, 17 new staff were hired and trained in other sites in the group before transferring to Farringdon for the launch.
 
The company is already working on its next site in the newly-revived area of Paddington Basin and which is due to open in May.

See the March edition of the drinks business for a full profile of the Grand Union Group.

Alan Lodge, 01.03.2011