Thu 6th Aug 2015 - McMullens unveils new joint managing director McMullens unveils new joint managing director: McMullens, the independent Hertfordshire brewer and pub operator, has announced the appointment of Tom McMullen as joint managing director with effect from today. He joins Peter Furness-Smith who has been managing director since 1998. McMullens has brewed beer in Hertford since 1827 and owns 130 pubs across London and the south east. Tom McMullen, aged 39, is the sixth generation of the founding family. Following a career as a corporate tax solicitor in the City, Tom subsequently gained an MBA at Imperial College, London, before joining the company in 2010. Since then he has held a number of roles across the company and was appointed to the board in 2013 together with Heydon Mizon, the retail director. The founding family has always been strongly involved in the running of the company and is currently represented by two of the seven executive directors on the board. In addition to Tom, Fergus McMullen (also sixth generation) is the executive director with responsibility for production and sales. Chairman Charles Brims said: “Tom has made an excellent contribution to the company’s success and I congratulate him on this appointment. We have a strong management team, with a healthy mix of family and independent directors.” Furness-Smith added: “I have enjoyed working closely with Tom who has brought a refreshing perspective to the opportunities facing our industry. He has demonstrated good leadership and I look forward to working with him in the coming years as we implement our successful long term strategy.” McMullens increased its pre-tax profits by 22% to £9.25m for the year ended 27th September 2014. The recently published half year accounts show a further increase of 15%. It has a strong balance sheet which enables the company to acquire new pubs as the opportunities arise. A statement from the company added: “The pub estate is predominantly managed which means it is not exposed to the threat posed to the tenanted sector by recent Government legislation attacking the beer tie. It has a small and modern brewery which enables it to brew mainly for its own pubs without the need to chase low-margin volumes elsewhere. Having successfully anticipated the significant growth in eating out by repositioning many of its pubs and investing in kitchens and food skills, sales of food and drink to customers visiting the Company’s pubs for a dining experience now make up nearly 60% of total sales. The most recently opened new pubs are all targeted at this growing eating out market and are performing strongly: Jolly Postie in Royston; Prince George in Milton Keynes; Kingfisher near Camberley; Baroosh in Marlow; Britannia also in Marlow; and Coach & Horses in Bishop’s Stortford. McMullens is proud of its commitment to the training and personal development of all its team members. This has created many opportunities for internal progression and resulted in not only half of its pub managers being promoted from within but also several head office management roles being filled by former pub managers. The company also announces two internal promotions: Alison Penfold to company secretary and Sandra Sheahan to company human resources executive. Tom McMullen will be directly responsible for production, property, finance and the company’s tenanted division.”