:) hi to all, just thought we would introduce ourselves. we are rhiannon and jason and will be taking over the bulls head at ranmoor on the 26th of jan. unfortunatly we will be closing the pub for 4 days for a much needed clean and face lift but when it reopens we hope to bring it back into the comunity as from talking to some of the locals we understand that past managment have let you down. we will be suporting our existing football team and hopefully putting together a pool team as well.we will try to incorporate local comunity events into our day to day running and any suggestions will be greatfully recived. there will be a new flexable menu with fresh local produce prepared daily and a list of real ales that can be chosen by our customers on a monthly basis. we hope you will come and say hi to us and let us give you back your local.
rhiannon and jason :D

:) we hope you will come and say hi to us and let us give you back your local.
rhiannon and jason :D

HI. Welcome to S10. Good to know Bulls Head not closing down for good as there have been a lot of rumours......

The Bull used to be a cracking pub, always busy and lively but it has certainly gone down hill in the last three to four years. In my honest opinion, putting the terrace on the front hasn't helped and from outside the place looks neither pretty nor inviting.

I think you need to be clear as to what you can offer that is different from what the other pubs in the region are offering. The Ranmoor is warm and welcoming with a decent range of real ales. The Fulwood serves food around the clock. The Rising Sun is popular with the real ale brigade.

What can the Bull's Head do to entice customers out of the aforementioned pubs? What is your stance regarding children? Dogs? Will you show Sky and Setanta Sport? Or will it be a quiet pub, kid- and dog-free?

I wish you luck in your venture.

thanks for the welcome :) nice to see a friendly comunity. we will be checking current licence for regulations on children. as we want to build it into a comunity pub we would like children to be made welcome if licence allows untill early evening . as for dogs again they will be welcome as long as well trained and at the responsibility of the owner. if they make a mess the owner cleans it up . 2 strikes and dogs bared.lol. we are checking with brewery at min to get a list selection of real ales and hope to be guesting 2 a month which the customers can request after the first month. the new menu will be based around fresh home made dishes, also a build your own style of menu. with core meats and veg you can mix and match to get exactly what you fancy. unlike some corporate pubs where you cant have a jacket spud with your meal because "its not served with that on the menu" . food will be served untill 9pm and we are checking if its possible to open for breakfasts with coffe, tea and soft drinks from 9 am. also posibility of a breakfast takeaway so you can grab something quick on your way to work or warming for walking the dog. sky and setanta will be staying and most major events will be shown. the current pub quiz will remain, but with a twist. the winners of the quiz will be able to pick from a choice of 3 boxes. 1 will have a £20 cash prize which will roll over from week to week. 1 will have a round of draught drinks for your team and one will have a boobie prize( no filthy minds please, we are young and impressionable :P) if the cash prize isnt won after 4 weeks it resets and the built up money will be donated to a local charity. and any other things you want just ask. we are only too happy to help if we can

Which Brewery owns the pub?, some are quite restrictive with thier guest lists, others you get some unusual ones

its still enterprise. but we have been informed they now have a good selection list. we will get you the best we can.

have you heard of the SIBA dds scheme and locale?
http://www.sheffieldcamra.co.uk/LocAle.htm
http://www.siba.co.uk/dds/

Means you can get ales from local micros and billed by enterprise. You will also find it cheaper then getting ales that are just on the enterprise list.

You will find its very sucessful and will get more people through your door.

thanks for the info. enterprise are sending us the info on siba and area manager is going to arrange to meet and discuss the real ales. we are limited to 4 pumps tho. but we will rotate them at least once a month

we are also going to try to work alongside the other locals in the area rather than compeat against them. we will all be living in the same area and should work together to make it as fun and plesent a place to be as we can.

dont take everything the area manager says as gospel, u may find he will try and persuade u to just sell the national brands!, dont believe a word of it.

Will there be any part time Jobs Available? I live just down the road...
Or are you keeping all the current Staff?

As a real ale drinker I would reccommend you get on the SIBA scheme if you can, this opens up almost all the small local breweries whose beers are quite popular now.

These include Kelham Island Brewery, Sheffield Brewery Company, Abbeydale Brewery, Thornbridge Brewery, Spire Brewery, Brampton Brewery, Acorn Brewery, Oakwell Brewery, Peak Ales, Wentworth Brewery, Bradfield Brewery and more.

You would probably do well to do the same that Mick at the Castle Inn at Bradway does - he has four pumps, two has well known national beers from the regular Enterprise list and two have beers from local breweries off the Siba list.

andy c: thats exactly what we had planned. we are showing this to the area manager when we meet so we can let him know whay the locals want.

scottie99: at the min most of the staff will be staying for now as far as we know. we dont know the state of current contracts.. as new managment we are looking to build the best possible team for the pub. in the pub trade staff come and go. we intend to only keep the best so keep popping in and see what happens.

Also beaware that the "area manager" isnt really out to help you as much as you may think, hes only there to make money for his company. So dont be surprised if he doesnt try and sell you things etc. When he realises you havent got any money to spend he will loose interest in you.

Sorry to sound pessamistic but this is exactly how they operate. Be on your guard and dont agree to anything there and then!.

Wow!! best news i've heard all year! we live just round the corner from BH and to be honest it was part of the reason we chose to move to the area. we have certainly been disappointed with the very obvious decline but now can't wait for its revival! i had a thread on here a couple of months ago regarding the sale/change of mangement and it was obvious there is alot of people hoping to see it turned around. the new menu ideas sound great and the real ale very promising. one of the reasons we visit less now is beers not always being available when we go. it will be nice to see it get a facelift and hopefully if you do all you plan it will be a success! i wish the very best of luck and can't wait to see you there!!

Good luck with your venture really hope it works out.

Last time I was in the Bulls Head we were not impressed and there would have to be some big improvements to make us think of a return visit not least a good clean,which it appears you are addressing already.

The Ranmoor inn is the bench mark around there these days in my opinion but it would be great to have another pub worth visisting nearby.

Best of luck with it , this used to be a cracking pub when Graham was in charge (a few years back now).
Had a good mix of people , some in watching footy on big screen , some in having food and lots of the local well off at the right hand side spending lots of cash (most days too). Was always a friendly atmosphere and a real local where you could always bump into someone you knew.

All went downhill (and a bit rough & unwelcoming frankly) in past few years and your customers are now in Rising Sun or Ranmoor Inn (and West 10).

Plus that terrace was a bad idea. Makes it look like a chain footy pub rather than the comfy local it is.
Get rid of that and put the few parking spaces back in and you may get more people in on the way home from work.

Woo back the monied locals from the Ranmoor inn with a clean cosy pub , put on some real ales (and ciders) as well as decent wines and you may find you are onto a winner.

Yes id go in if the was real ciders!
a lot of people just think about real ale making a good pub, but actually proper cider is really important to(i dont mean anything like bulmers).
If being part of a pub co u have problems getting real cider then prehaps you can get a half way house one such as Stowford press etc

Good luck. That place needs sorting out! Its a pimple on the lovely face of Ranmoor and the only place on the 'Ranmoor Strip' that few people want to set foot in at the moment.

All went downhill (and a bit rough & unwelcoming frankly) in past few years and your customers are now in Rising Sun or Ranmoor Inn (and West 10).

And from talking to my customers a few have drifted down to Broomhill too in the last few years....

Hows it going with the new place?, how have the pub co been with you

so far its been fantastic. the people here are so welcomming. we got really busy on friday night and with only us on bar everyone was patient and supportive of us, hopefully we made a good first impression. today has been busy as well with the game on sky. our pub company have supported throughout. the directors came for a meal yesterday and thanked us for cleaning for 4 days with no sleep.lol. we now know where the place was going so verry wrong. now its up to us to rectify that. thanks eckingtonboy for all your advice and support here. hopefully you will come visit and introduce yourself in person soon.

Oh I live across the road from you guys! I really should say come in and say hello! I saw the massive udner new ownership sign :D

Can I come to the Bull's Head?

don't trust entrprise with anything. They are in it for their own good and do not care at all about the tenants. The area managers feed you lies all the time. I guess BW is your area manager, talks nothing but crap. Siba actually works out more expensive because enterprise have to put their extra bit on top. Good luck but try to do everything you can without getting the brewery involved.

yes i agree with tingotango, they may appear all ncie and caring and concerned and doing their best for you , but this really isnt the case. they certainly are in it for themselves. dont trust them , if they tell you something your best checking on here what they tell you!

But i do hope it works out and i aim to come round and check the place out:)

well they did it. enterprise have thrown us out of the pub!!! still not sure what we did wrong. we doubled trade and had a glowing report from the hse but the rep mark whitley decided we wernt good enough. to everyone who supported and the 247 people who signed the petition to keep us there thank you. we wish you all the best and thanks for all the support from the forum. jason and rhiannon

Three months and gone.......Enterprise don't have a good name with anyone.

Oh am really sorry to hear that. What reasons did you rep give...

well they did it. enterprise have thrown us out of the pub!!! still not sure what we did wrong. we doubled trade and had a glowing report from the hse but the rep mark whitley decided we wernt good enough. to everyone who supported and the 247 people who signed the petition to keep us there thank you. we wish you all the best and thanks for all the support from the forum. jason and rhiannon

Mr Mark Whiteley is probably the most perfect example of a snake in snakes clothing.... the real 'Old Skool' type of Pub Co Area manager....a suit with teeth!!!!

....I met him once in connection with the Plough at Sandygate and it was a most unpleasant experience..he was patronising, rude, impatient, know it all (when he clearly does not).he alone put me off Enterprise Inns for ever!!!!!!

In fact it is common knowledge that most of the Enterprise pubs he is in charge off are either empty, boarded up, or change tenants 3 or 4 times a year because he forces them out with his 'techniques'......

It appears Enterprise is flogging it off freehold...

http://licensedandleisure.collierscre.com/Modules/Shared/OpenDocument.aspx?f=51091662-2fd3-4f54-8f0d-c547c305be47.pdf&p=documents&HID=8883&PID=-1

I think that's an old freehold brochure from Jan 2008.

Bulls head were you simply a tenant at will or did you have a proper tenancy?
Did you loose much money in it?

For once I totally agree with Golden Fleece. If there is any one on this forum looking for a pub to run avoid Enterprise Inns at all costs. Their business model involves a total tie on products and no discount on barrelage. You dont stand a cat in hells chance. Fortunately for the likes of Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns a lot of people buy pubs with their hearts and not their heads.

For once I totally agree with Golden Fleece. If there is any one on this forum looking for a pub to run avoid Enterprise Inns at all costs. Their business model involves a total tie on products and no discount on barrelage. You dont stand a cat in hells chance. Fortunately for the likes of Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns a lot of people buy pubs with their hearts and not their heads.

Punch are not quite as bad to be fair....they do offer some discounts, and often a partial tie only, but it all depends on the premises. So far I have yet to meet a Punch BRM who is a COMPLETE idiot....met 2 from Enterprize to date, one of whom is referenced above:rant:, and one other one who had his head so far up his posterior he was talking out of it non stop:hihi:

Fortunately for the likes of Enterprise Inns and Punch Taverns a lot of people buy pubs with their hearts and not their heads.

Yes, this is indeed the case. There still seems to be the concept that owning a pub is a 'dream come true' for too many people. For many in reality, it becomes a nightmare, and far from the idyllic vision that many still seem to cling to.

Now, while it is certainly possible to make money f you are clever enough with cash flow and cost controls, you really have to go in with your eyes propped open wide, and never blink! One blink gives the Pub Co the opportunity to pull a fast one on you, and they will make life so unbearable with cost increases and 'policy' updates! :gag:

For anyone on this thread inspired to take on any 'ideal starter pub' or 'superb opportunity with great potential to develop trade' on Pub Co web sites........STOP!!!!

Never ever take a pub without spending a lot of time doing the maths, and doing at the very least 2 years worth of financial forecasts and projections with the help of a specialist accountant. Many try to do it themselves and just fall apart at the seams. You must ensure you have ALL the costs from the Pub Co! Many only give you bits and pieces to hide the fact the Pub has lost huge amounts of money over the previous period, so make sure you extract ALL the financial data from them and know the reality of the real and constant maintainable profit from the premises BACKWARDS. If they wont supply this data in full, walk away! If you don't walk away, they will eat you for breakfast, empty your savings account and in all likelyhood make you homeless too......its a bit bleak this advice, but I regret to say its the truth.

of course, this still wont stop a ruthless Area Manager from making life Hell on Earth for you, they are (probably) all X Army drill sargeants!!!

Sad to hear that it did not work out.

To be honest I think enerprise have probably shot themselves in the foot as most people I know round there go in the Ranmoor Inn which is a very well run pub and constantly changing landlords of the bulls head is not the way to take them on.

In times like this if you dont get it right you probably wont survive.

I would not be suprised if the Bulls Head closes eventually.

we were told that "our standards wernt high enough." we had turned the pub arround, cleaned it from top to bottom. been gven a glowing report from health and safety and over doubled the take in under 9 weeks. we work for a company called hawk inn who were told they could keep the tennancy "as long as you get rid of jason and rhiannon" . feels personal. we just dont know what we did wrong. clean pub, good beer and increased take and we wernt good enough. our wage was only 17.5% of take and we payed staff out of that. we now have the bath on bergoyne road. so we are trying again. only problem is that mark whitley is our area manager again. we just cant win. stating to think we should try to find another company to manage for.

we were told that "our standards wernt high enough." we had turned the pub arround, cleaned it from top to bottom. been gven a glowing report from health and safety and over doubled the take in under 9 weeks. we work for a company called hawk inn who were told they could keep the tennancy "as long as you get rid of jason and rhiannon" . feels personal. we just dont know what we did wrong. clean pub, good beer and increased take and we wernt good enough. our wage was only 17.5% of take and we payed staff out of that. we now have the bath on bergoyne road. so we are trying again. only problem is that mark whitley is our area manager again. we just cant win. stating to think we should try to find another company to manage for.

Sorry but your asking for trouble for sticking with them. Give me his phone number and ill get him sorted for you:hihi:

Similar situation at the Shiny Sheff.

Enterprise have now decided they want the pub to be a restaurant. At hardly any moment's notice at all, they have decided to boot out Tim and Wendy. Yet more vulgar, shabby treatment from this deplorable pub-co.

Tim told me that the signs were promising with people beginning to come back to the pub. How does anyone stand a chance of turning things around in under 2 monhs?!

This Saturday there's a superb Robbie Williams tribute act on. This is the fella that appeared on Stars In Their Eyes and is a major coup for the Shiny Sheff. Show your support!

Despite having their phone-lines cut by our pub-co friends (and thus having no access to the internet) I wish to say a huge 'thank you' to Tim, Wendy and 'Ginga' and wish them every success in their next venture.

Enterprise have now decided they want the pub to be a restaurant. At hardly any moment's notice at all, they have decided to boot out Tim and Wendy. Yet more vulgar, shabby treatment from this deplorable pub-co.

It is deplorable indeed. Mr M Whiteley (BRM) is off his rocker! Its probably official, and I am sure he has escaped from somewhere or is on a curfew......

It is deplorable indeed. Mr M Whiteley (BRM) is off his rocker! Its probably official, and I am sure he has escaped from somewhere or is on a curfew......

Hi, I,m not in the pub trade,only for a drink in them, but its a coincidence that only this week in two different pubs i,ve visited has this m whiteley name been mentioned and must say not for the good of things.

Maybe this thread should be forwarded to Enterprise!

Maybe this thread should be forwarded to Enterprise!

As if they would take the slightest bit of notice though......as long as there are willing victims to hand over their life savings to Pub Co BRM's. they are happy.....and it seems there are still many people who want to throw away their life savings by signing up with certain Pub Co's........I dont know what the actual stats are, but probably only 1 in 10 pubs will actually make you any REAL money (as opposed to gross turnover, etc).....someone should do some research into this....The Pub Co's will have the official line of "your dream come true, have a great life and make money from your ideal pub'...........the reality???? Well, scan this and other threads for the answer......

In some cases I think being a dreaded and much loathed classic 'double glazing' salesperson will make you more money