9 minute read
TAKING THE NEXT STEPS
Despite challenging market conditions, Northcote has emerged perfectly poised to enter the next chapter of its life. Amanda Afiya speaks to Stuart Procter and Craig Bancroft about their plans for The Stafford Collection’s much-loved country house hotel
Northcote has just celebrated three years as part of The Stafford Collection, the independently owned luxury portfolio of UK hotels and restaurants, and it couldn’t be in better shape to take the next exciting step in its journey to become one of the most iconic country house hotels in England.
“The success of this place over the last three years has been phenomenal in terms of performance, leadership, sales and marketing – and the quality of the food has gone through the roof,” explains Stuart Procter, COO of The Stafford Collection. “There’s been some real innovation from the team.”
Singling out one such project, Stuart refers to the Gourmet Box concept created by executive chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen, which TAKING THE launched in November 2020, just as the second national lockdown came into force. While businesses up and down the country were shuttered, NEXT STEP… Despite challenging market conditions, Northcote has emerged perfectly poised to enter Northcote food boxes offered customers forced to stay the next chapter of its life. Amanda Afiya speaks to Stuart Procter and Craig Bancroft about at home, Michelin-starred, their plans for The Stafford Collection’s much-loved country house hotel restaurant-quality gourmet dishes in the comfort of their Northcote has just celebrated three years as part of The Stafford Collection, the own surroundings. “The Gourmet Boxes were so successful, it was incredible,” says Stuart, adding that Northcote sold up to 400 boxes independently owned luxury a week, each box for two people, portfolio of UK hotels and more covers than the property restaurants, and it couldn’t be in better shape to take the next exciting step in its journey to ‘Northcote is going to be Northern at its heart but have the quality of a five-star had done in its history. “But on top of that stellar performance during several lockdowns, we’ve become one of the most iconic London hotel. It’s going to be beautiful’ emerged to a buoyant staycation country house hotels in England. market and Northcote is full every day and night for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“The Gourmet Boxes were able to underpin our business at a time when the region was in Tier 4 – we were able to have a good Christmas in trade terms after all,” says Craig Bancroft, Northcote’s managing director.
Stuart and Craig’s comments throughout our interview demonstrate the pair’s deep understanding of one another’s modus operandi and confirms that they are on the same page, in terms of the development and evolution of the Langho property. But that comes as no surprise given Stuart’s long association with the hotel, dating back some 31 years to his early days as a trainee manager.
“The most important thing about our relationship is that we have always been in contact with one another,” says Craig. “So, when Stuart left us – and we helped him make that next move during his formative years – we always stayed in touch. Stuart has always referred back to me and told me what he’s doing in his career, and I’ve never lost contact with Stuart as he’s grown in stature.”
For Stuart, who was born in nearby Whalley, Northcote has always had a special place in his heart. “And that’s down to Craig and nobody else,” he says. “My brother had his wedding here, my daughter, Florence [now 18], had her christening here, and so whenever I came up to Lancashire, when I was at the Devonshire Arms and with Shire Hotels, I would always come to Northcote to see Craig. We never lost touch, ever, we spoke all the time.”
“We’ve grown in our roles over the years,” adds Craig, “Now we’ve swapped roles because Stuart was once my apprentice and I was his boss, and now he is my boss – and yet it’s not like that in terms of the way we talk to each other. Without the banter, the mutual respect, and the understanding of one another’s business, you wouldn’t have the output that we have today.” Indeed, that enduring friendship played a massive part in The Stafford Collection’s decision to acquire Northcote for its portfolio in February 2019. Craig, who has been staying at The Stafford in London since his mother worked as a consultant in the 1980s, was in the bar there one night and sharing with Stuart the challenges he faced at Northcote at the time. “I had my head in my hands and said to Stuart, ‘I can’t sell Northcote to the wrong buyer, what are we going to do?’ And Stuart said, ‘Well, why don’t we buy it?’ “I really didn’t think a London property would be interested in Northcote,” adds Craig. “But, without our relationship that conversation would never have happened.” “We chatted about Northcote’s potential sale,” Stuart continues. “It fitted like a hand to a glove. Obviously, there’s my history there, and secondly, at the time, The Stafford’s UK business was pretty minimal – we needed a UK property to complement The Stafford and it’s done that amazingly well. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and foresight is even better, but the timing and the purchasing of Northcote couldn’t have been better given the onslaught of the pandemic and the knock-on effect it had on overseas visitors – at that time they were the backbone of The Stafford’s guests.” And so, three years on from The Stafford Collection’s acquisition of Northcote, the hotel is now perfectly placed to embark on the next phase of its life as a celebrated hotel. With current occupancy levels running at 95 per cent, the time is right it seems, for the 26-bedroom property to spread its wings. “Lunchtime still remains totally local and very buoyant and full every day, but the evening market has been taken up by our residents, in the main, so we don’t have as much capacity as we would like for our local regulars,” says Craig. “In the evening, our local market is struggling to get in – hence mine and Stuart’s joint vision for the hotel is to expand. Because if we don’t expand, we will end up alienating the people who surround us and support us so well.”
Team Spirit
People have always been at the core of the operation, and Northcote is no different today. “The team is so strong with Craig at the helm and with Lisa, Kaye, Jordan, Courtney, Danny, Bruno, Robyn and Steph,” says Stuart. “The list goes on. They are the heart and soul of the place and their strength as a team, as the spine of this place, is extraordinary. I love my football analogies and always say, your left wingers and right wingers can come and go, but you have to maintain the spine of the business. “We’ve had to make some very big decisions over the past few years, we’re both Cancerians so we look hard on the outside but we’re very soft on the inside, we’re very emotional people and our teams are like our families, they really are. “We’ve got beautiful people who work for us, and the loyalty in this business is superb. We’re all one team trying to ensure that Northcote is successful, and most importantly, that our clients love it,” says Stuart.
The plans for Northcote, likely to be developed over the next two to five years, promise to be nothing short of magnificent, with Northcote transforming into an iconic, luxury property within its stunning Ribble Valley location. Keen for the work to be gradual and as organic as possible, Stuart says: “We’re going to keep the development in line with what Northcote is, and it’s going to be evolution, not revolution.” Among the proposals being drawn up is a new fine-dining space to give Michelin-starred chef Lisa and her team the platform their culinary talents deserve. “The focus will be to try to create a standalone restaurant within the grounds that are more befitting of Lisa’s cooking,” explains Craig. Meanwhile, a second dining space, in the current restaurant location, will offer a casual and informal brasserie, alongside a vibrant cocktail bar.
Intimate, private dining spaces will be peppered throughout the property (suitable for small birthday celebrations and exclusive dinner parties) and improvements will be made to the hugely successful cookery school and the property’s provision of wine education, so that classes can be expanded from eight to 12 people. “Long term, we’re looking to have a spa/recreational element to the property with multi-use opportunities for both guests and locals,” adds Craig.
Approximately 20 more bedrooms will be introduced to the site, culminating in a 45-bedroom property with food, wine and service at its heart, genuine hospitality, and a proposition that stands the test of time for many generations to come. “Northcote is going to be Northern at its heart but have the quality of a five-star London hotel,” concludes Craig. “It’s going to be beautiful.”
