Posted:20-October-2026
A Pub Franchise Success Story: Returning Home to Hazel Grove
After spending over 20 years’ working in the hospitality industry in Spain, Sharon returned home to the village of Hazel Grove in the Greater Manchester are She is now proudly running a pub that she has always recognised as the heartbeat of its community, where she is also feeling the benefit of being part of the Greene King franchise family.
Sharon (Franchisee) – “I feel very nostalgic about this pub because when I was young I was brought up in this village. So, walking around these streets as a child, I still remember this is one of the original pubs in the village.”
“I think after working independently in the sector, it was and still is a very difficult sector to be in. I always used this terminology ‘tools in the box’. There’s lots there, lots of support.”
Nick (Business Development Manager) – “It's a perfect middle ground between being part of the managed estate and being a lease & tenanted operator. So, you have all the expertise of Greene King to help support you and the framework of the franchise agreement. Yes, there's a framework to work within, but also, we want to make the best of the business. So, there is that freedom as well.”
Sharon (Franchisee) – “I went on the induction in Bury Saint Edmunds. All the training team were there at that point. You've got a working cellar and so there was a lot of hands-on training, so a lot of it was done before I was actually on-site.” “The training team came in and, you know, they leave you at a point where you've got everything you need, and then going forward, you can call on them for support. You know, it does feel like we are a family. I say it all the time, my Hive family, because that is what it feels like.”
Nick (Business Development Manager) – “I can be with them on the good days and bad days. So, the bad days, I'm there at the other end of the phone for them to rant out, and then for us to essentially find some kind of solution at the end of it.” “It's something we pride ourselves with in Pub Partners in particular, that we call ourselves small and mighty, and that we can get things done quite quickly. It's very different to the managed world, where everything is kind of done in the background. We can normally reach out to someone and get an answer there and then.”
Sharon (Franchisee) – “Our rhythm of the week is very well thought out, but it's also there that we can add our own touches into it as well. All very cleverly done. I've been known to say before ‘you've been working on that a while, haven't you?’ And, of course, that's what happens behind the scenes. It's all fresh and you know, and again it's those tools in the box. That's what helps us do our job.”
Nick (Business Development Manager) – “I can provide kind of real-life scenarios to them where I've been in a very similar situation and the ways that I found a workaround and what worked for me and what didn't work for me, more importantly. And ways that when it didn't work for me, how did I improve?”
Sharon (Franchisee) – “I think the biggest thing is that support, it does feel like a family. Although we're all here doing a job, we all have a job to but ultimately, it's the support.”
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