01 · Fix it

Fix it.
Sales are flat, costs are up, and nobody inside can tell you why.

I go into the business, work out what’s actually wrong, put a number on what it’s costing you, and then I stay and fix it. I lead it, or I run it alongside your team.

It’s rarely the thing everyone’s arguing about. It’s a rota that peaks at 5pm when the covers peak at 7.30. A bar built 2 metres too deep, adding 3 seconds to every drink. 18 guests out of 16,596 who came back 5 times, and nobody had counted.

How it starts

  1. The Read. 1 day on site, all 4 lenses. One page on what I’d change first and what it’s worth.
  2. The Sprint. 3 days in your business. Within 5 working days you get the Verdict, 4 costed options and a 90 day plan, presented once, with 1 round of questions.
  3. The Fix. I stay in the building and lead the plan through, whether it’s a turnaround or a scale up. 3 to 9 months, with a checkpoint in week 4.

Whichever it is, start with a day. Or 3 days, and the truth.

What I look at

The offer, the team, the guests and the space. Restructuring firms send accountants. Consultancies send strategists. Design firms send designers. Nobody sees all 4 at once. I do. I read all 4 in a day, go deep in 3, then stay to fix it, scale it or grow it.

The record

Coppa Club
Sent in on a 3 month secondment to turn round Tower Bridge. Stayed 3 years as Head of Operations. Revenue up 22% to £50m, £2m of summer trade from space nobody was using, £1.75m more from bookings, NPS from 40 to 72.
Mitchells & Butlers
Inherited a district ranked 176th in the country. Top 10 within 12 months. Sales up 19%, profit up 12%.
A £200m luxury flagship
Operating profit turned round 60%.
A New York bar
Weekly bar revenue from $14,492 to about $28,500 in 4 months, without major capex.

Advice costs you money. I make it.

Questions

What does a hospitality turnaround consultant actually do?

Finds out what’s really wrong, puts a number on it, and fixes it. With me that means 3 days in the business reading the offer, the team, the guests and the space, a plan with the money on every line, and then staying in the building to lead it through.

How do I know if my restaurant group needs fixing?

Sales are flat or falling, costs keep rising, and the explanations from inside don’t add up. If you’ve already paid for advice that changed nothing, that counts too.

How long does a restaurant turnaround take?

The Sprint is 3 days on site and 5 working days to the Verdict. The Fix runs 3 to 9 months, with a checkpoint in week 4.

How is a turnaround priced?

By the project, on the outcome, agreed before I start. Never by the hour.

Which businesses do you fix, and where?

Food halls, restaurants and bars, coffee, QSR, stadia and venues, competitive socialising, luxury retail, hotels and members’ clubs. Based in London, working across the UK, Europe, the US, the Middle East and APAC.

Stuck, scaling, or leaving money on the table?

Email me at gary@digby-fox.co.uk or message me on LinkedIn. Or book a call. Not sure which you need? Take the test.