A proven track record, experience and knowledge of the industry

• Over 29 years retailing experience in Inns, Pubs, Bars and Restaurants.
• Nearly 9 years as Property Landlord responsible for over 100 Leased and Tenanted Pubs.
• Operationally responsible for two fledgling limited companies subsequently sold to major plc's.
• 3 Years private Pub / Restaurant ownership.
• 5 years plc Directorship.
• Licensee and Morning Advertiser "Best Pub Promotion of the Year 1995".
• Evening Standard "Pub of the Year 1986" (Clifton Hotel St Johns Wood).
  
• World Wide Die-Stamp "Excellent Engraved Letterhead of 1993" (Daily Telegraph 7th Feb 1994).
  
• National "Best Pub Promotion of the Year 1995".
  

Testimonials

2011 - Tenanted Pubs

“David showed us the direction we needed to go in, in order to maximise the potential of our business”

“we would never have thought of-it works brilliantly”

 “David seems to have an endless supply of initiatives with regard to marketing and sales”

 “His insight, initiative and enthusiasm are worth every penny and his attention to detail second to none”

“I can 100% recommend David Queen’s consultation services, with just a few subtle changes of adding some mirrors, painting walls and ceilings to colours that I would not have chosen, has totally transformed the ambience of my pub / restaurant”

“In addition to the interior decor, David also advised on some external changes which included new  signs, lighting, and landscaping of the frontage.  The feedback on these small changes from both regular and new customers has been fantastic”

 “He saw the hole in the local market through intense customer research of the area”

“To assist us in looking at new ways to increase business and turnover, David showed us how to market and promote ourselves better.  This included updating our menus and wine lists to be more suited to our clientele”

“David negotiated a collaborative promotion, which resulted in us appearing in the newspaper for several weeks at no expense, plus communicating an offer to over 5,000 ideal customers for very little outlay. It was a fantastic way to let people know we had made some changes to our business and to encourage them to try us”

“I would have no hesitation in recommending David's services”

‘David is one of the very few people with an instinctive flair for pub retailing and the people skills to help small individual operators move their business forward. For the first time ever, Brakspear had a credible business plan for each of its 100+ pubs. With David at the helm of the pub estate, he put the plan into practice with outstanding success. By segmenting the offering, he helped to avoid individual outlets competing head to head with a neighbour and thus ensured each business was able to maximize its turnover and profit. His hands on creative style, and attention to detail proved to be enormously successful, no matter whether it were a major capital investment or a minor redecoration.‘
Jim Burrows, CEO W. H. Brakspear Plc 1996-2003

David not only offered me my first pub, but a premium-free lease on a newly re-developed site that I was able to personalise before launching.  It was hard work, but I more than broke even in the first year and I have not looked back since.  My lifestyle has changed dramatically, but I am my own bosses and working hard for yourself is much more palatable than doing it for someone else. I am out of the corporate structure and I can be far more flexible, enabling a better quality of life for the whole family.  I have established a great reputation in the village and a wide catchment area and I have a successful and robust business for the long term future" 

      
Richard Coates - The Cherry Tree, Stoke Row, Henley on Thames

WHY you?

Case Studies (could this be you?)

• A previously failing small tenanted roadside pub was repositioned to a pub/restaurant on a budget of £12,000, resulting in sales rising six fold.  The success of this gave the tenant and landlord the confidence to convert an adjacent barn to 4 en-suite letting rooms.

• A village pub serving 1980’s style 'pub grub' was repositioned to become a stylish food pub with 4 letting rooms in a converted barn. After refurbishment and an extension costing £285,000, turnover grew from just £1,200 p/w to  a massive £15,000 p/w.

• A failing small 'back-street boozer' in a prosperous market town was converted to a stylish lounge bar, through development and an extension costing £250,000.  This resulted in turnover increasing from a mere £800 p/w to a huge £15,000 p/w.

• A tiny tired Irish themed high street pub was successfully repositioned as an ale house/wine bar hybrid, with turnover increasing five fold.

• An edge of town 'boozer', without a food offer was repositioned to become a quality contemporary pub with 25% food mix and a three fold increase in turnover. 

Personal Profile

David Queen began his licensed career at the age of 18 when he co-managed an extremely successful 1300-beer barrel free house, The Cartoon, Croydon.  He left to seek wider experience and a more structured career path as an Area Management Trainee with Grand Metropolitan plc / Chef & Brewer which was later known as The Host Group. 

After 5 years David was offered the opportunity to join a newly formed ‘multiple’ pub, hotel and restaurant company, Licensing Solutions Ltd, a division of the largest private marketing company in the UK.  He helped expand this fledgling company from four to twenty one businesses over a period of four years, after which it was sold to a restaurant based plc. 

David later re-joined his former Licensing Solutions chairman to launch another company, Dragon Inns & Restaurants Ltd, and following enormous success, he managed the sale and integration of the company into Pelican Group plc (Café Rouge), achieving significant profit guarantees. 

David then worked freelance as a consultant for some multiple pub and restaurant companies as well as having one pub lease operation.  However the offer to become Director of the Licensed Estate of the then family brewer, W H Brakspear plc, led David to sell the assets in his pub and consultancy business to concentrate on the changes required to develop the 100 strong managed and tenanted estate.  Over the following 8½ years David acquired over 20 freehold properties to the value of £12m and invested £9m in development projects, thus helping W H Brakspear achieve enormous growth in profits (x2.7*) and share value (x3.66*).  In January 2007, the company was sold to J T Davies Ltd for a multiple of 19.5* earnings.

In October 2007 David formed Consultinn Ltd. and soon established many major clients in the industry including Charles Wells Ltd, LNY Solutions, White Eagle (Europe) Plc

* approximate figures