A China Anniversary for Signature

Signature Pubs had two pubs in its portfolio when I first met Nic Wood back in 2007 at the opening of Element in Edinburgh’s Rose Street. By then he had been running Signature Pubs for four years, following the purchase of the Bieldside in Aberdeen in 2003.

Today, the company has its own HQ in Edinburgh at Albyn Place, a far cry from the space in his father’s fish factory in Aberdeen, where Nic first mapped out plans and recruited for his fledging business. The first thing that caught my eye in Nic’s office was the huge portrait of the cigar smoking gorilla behind his desk - which I loved. Nic does too, saying, “You have to have some fun when you run a business.”

That business now runs more than 20 venues across Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling. The night before we met, Nic and his colleagues had celebrated the anniversary and caught up with many people who have been part of the Signature journey over the years. Says Nic, “Louise (Maclean) had persuaded people to record wee videos with their own special memories of Signature. It was great to see so many familiar faces and it was also surprising for me to hear how much I had influenced some of their lives - you really don’t think about that at all at the time. It reminded me how special the trade is, because you get to work with so many people who become lifelong friends.”

But, it has not all been smooth sailing. Nic admits the company’s first purchase, the Bieldside in Aberdeen, was in hindsight, a mistake. “By the time we bought the Bieldside in 2003 I had been working in hospitality for 10 years in Edinburgh. Initially working for people before moving on to running three or four pubs for Scottish & Newcastle. I really thought I knew what I was doing. So, when the opportunity came up to buy the Bieldside in Aberdeen, it seemed the right thing to do. However, Aberdeen was a whole different kettle of fish from what I had become used to in Edinburgh. There, people wanted new different things and as an operator you wanted to be the first in with new drinks, new products, and such like. In Aberdeen the customer didn’t want that - they wanted the status quo. Although we refurbished The Bieldside and it actually did okay when we opened, it didn’t get the reaction I expected from customers.”

The Bieldside was sold and although somewhat disillusioned by his Aberdeen experience, it did not put him off wanting to grow and build his hospitality business, but this time he returned to his familiar habitat - Edinburgh.

The first venue he eyed up was The Rutland Hotel, but one of his former bosses, Billy Lowe, swooped in and bought it from under his nose. Instead Nic bought two pubs from Spirit - Brecks, which became Element, and the Black Bull in the Grassmarket. He explains, “I knew that they were both good pubs because I was familiar with them. I had worked in the Grassmarket, and I knew Bretts was a good venue because it was nearby the Queens Arms where I had also worked.

But, he hadn’t given up on The Rutland and he subsequently persuaded Billy to sell it to him. Although halfway through the renovation, he was probably regretting that. The recession of 2008 had kicked in and the renovation costs kept going up. It was somewhat stressful. Nic laughs, “My former Financial Controller, Graham Wood, reminded me last night how acrimonious it was. None of the contractors got on, and at one point Graham suggested we all go outside and have a boxing match. “We had done all our business projections for The Rutland based on the fact that it would attract the corporate market and corporate credit cards. But, when we reopened, the corporate world, which meant so much to so many Edinburgh businesses, was gone and we struggled really badly. In my head I had thought, the more we spent on it, the more people would want to come - but they perceived it as being expensive. We re-invented it as Kyloe - same chef, same staff, same prices, but we made the décor more fun and casual. People then perceived it as value for money and it went on to be a massive hit. It was one of the biggest lessons I ever learned … it is the perception of a venue that matters, not actually what it is!”

Hospitality wasn’t on Nic’s radar when he first went to University in Edinburgh, but one of his pals persuaded him to take a shift as a doorman at Braidwood’s - which was then owned by Billy Lowe. He progressed to working behind the bar and he loved it. Says Nic, “There was a great manageress there called Alison. She used to ask us what we thought about things and persuaded us to come up with ideas. If they were good, she would take them to Billy. Our mentality was the same as the people coming through the door. There were things such as bar fly, sumo wrestling, drinking competitions, sponsorship of student teams and much more. That fun part was what got me interested in hospitality. Compared to then I am Captain Sensible now! That’s why I employ social marketers who have the same mindset as a lot of our customers.” Nic continued working in the industry after he graduated, working for Billy Lowe in various establishments. When Billy sold out to S&N, Nic stayed with the business for a while before he and girlfriend Sarah, now his wife, went on a 2-year Australian adventure. In fact, the duo nearly settled there.

However, before making any decisions, he took six months out and shadowed his dad Sir Ian Wood. Explains Nic, “I wanted to learn how to run a business, and who better to learn from? I offered to carry his bags, sit in meetings and travel with him. All I wanted him to do was share the reasons that he made certain decisions, so I could understand how he managed the business, and so that I could learn for myself how you ought to do it. I think at the end of it he offered me a job, but after seeing how mental his life was, I declined. But that was when the idea of setting up my own hospitality business took root. We got into the discussion about buying bars. I got very close to buying my first bar in Australia as I had been living there. We only decided against it