Ed Turner to replace Rupert Clevely as Geronimo boss: Rupert Clevely is to step down as managing director of Geronimo Inns on 2 April, two years after the company he co-founded in 1995 with his wife Jo was sold to Young’s. Clevely will become a non-executive director and be replaced by Ed Turner, who joined Geronimo in 1999, starting out as an operations manager before becoming operations director and then commercial director for a number of years before Geronimo was acquired by Young’s. Turner became commercial director of Young’s in 2011. The company stated: “In his new role, Ed will continue to be responsible for marketing and for training and recruitment in all of the managed pubs - both Geronimo and Young’s.” Young’s chairman Nicholas Bryan said: “These changes represent a smooth and effective succession plan within Geronimo. I would like to thank Rupert for the excellent job he has done in leading Geronimo during its integration into Young’s, and I am delighted that he will continue to contribute his considerable experience, and his feel for the business he created, in a non-executive capacity. In Ed, we have a ready-made successor who has spent many years working with Rupert to grow Geronimo, and who will bring great vigour and energy to his new role as we develop the business further. With Patrick Dardis and Ed Turner, responsible for the Young’s and Geronimo estates respectively, both reporting to Stephen Goodyear, the chief executive, we have very strong leadership in place to continue driving the profitable growth of both businesses.”

Background briefing by Paul Charity: Rupert Clevely’s departure from Young’s comes after the Geronimo Inns business he co-founded with his wife Jo produced strong like-for-like growth during the first two years of Young’s ownership. Young’s sought to make sure Geronimo retained autonomy post acquisition to allow brand values to be retained. Unusually, also, Clevely was given a seat on the board, which some claimed was a sale condition that London rival Fuller’s was not prepared to meet. At results in November, it was clear, one month before the second anniversary of the Geronimo acquisition, that chief executive Stephen Goodyear was keen to retain the Clevelys services for as long as possible. Asked by Propel how long he expected the couple to stay with the company – Jo was not a paid employee but provided on-going design consultancy - Goodyear said: “I hope another 100 years or so – it’s been a very happy coming together.” The results in November indicated that the Geronimo acquisition was an ongoing success; Young’s had converted three pubs from its tenanted estate – The Half Moon, Putney, The Chelsea Ram and The Princess of Wales, Clapton – to be run under its Geronimo Inns division. The Geronimo division saw like-for-like sales up by 4.5% and overall sales up 32.7% with new sites The Oyster Shed and The Cow and the Calf, both in Westfield Shopping centre opening. The Young’s annual report also showed the company sensibly rewarding Clevely for the storming performance since the estate was acquired - he picked up a £200,000 bonus on top of his £240,000 of basic salary and benefits. It placed him on top of the bonus pile alongside chief executive Stephen Goodyear, who also earned a £200,000 bonus.