We assemble senior level teams with skills relevant to each assignment under the leadership of our Principals: John Ashworth, MBA, qualified as a solicitor and has worked as an advisor in the leisure and tourism industries internationally and domestically for over 25 years, including as a consultant for Coopers & Lybrand and as a Partner and Consulting Director for accountants Pannell Kerr Forster. He founded John Ashworth Associates in 1994; and he is a director of a small company operating in the fitness industry.

Jonathan Dickins has been in the sports and leisure industry for the last 25 years as director and shareholder of a sports management agency, then in a similar role with a management consultancy specialising in club and resort development and marketing. He founded Sportscard, a sports-benefits credit card, taking the company from concept to an AIM listing with a flotation capitalization of £20m; then successfully sold to another listed leisure company.

We can assist with: • Market position statements, including relevant leisure industry trends • Current business reviews • Business potential and strategic risk assessments • Future earnings estimates • Company sale potential • Cost reduction.

A Client list is available on request. Contact us now for an informal discussion about your requirements.

As a group of experienced managers with practical and strategic skills that will help your business to operate as effectively as possible in the current harsh economic climate, we offer a range of services which can be tailored to the specific needs of your business. Our objective is not just to help your company survive the downturn but to ensure that you are in the best possible position to take advantage of future growth.

Why choose us? Our consultants offer a depth of practical operational and management experience gained in conference centres, hotels and hospitality businesses. We have worked for multinationals, academic institutions and private entrepreneurs and have also worked at a senior level for major consultancies in the UK and overseas. Contacts : bb@bridgetbaker.co.uk; john@ashers.demon.co.uk

Following an initial review we can provide a ‘health check’ to ensure that your business is operating as effectively as possible, identifying strengths, weaknesses and potential opportunities.The health check can include the assessment of : Current bookings and future business. Financial systems and cost controls. Staffing levels. Sales skills, records and planning. Booking systems. Customer relationship management. Analysis of your competitive market. Purchasing policies. Business process.

Once the Health Check is complete we can assess the needs of your business and identify areas that require particular attention. These could include :

Budgeting and financial forecasting >Training needs > Estimates of capital expenditure requirements > Sales planning and sales action plans > Operational change > Value engineering >Business planning and action plans.

Following our report and recommendations we can offer quarterly or monthly follow up to check on progress and review the business in the light of changing market trends.

Our Associates:-

John Ashworth: An independent consultant, John specialises in the leisure sport and tourism industries. He has big firm consulting experience with Coopers & Lybrand and PKF (Pannell Kerr Forster), where he was a partner in the firm. Working independently since 1994 his clients have included developers, resorts and hotels, clubs and public sector and tourism organisations. John’s skills include: improving the profitability of leisure businesses, market repositioning and operational change; reviewing current performance and business prospects by way of due diligence for 3rd party investors, lenders and purchasers; preparing and implementing marketing and sales strategies for club memberships and associated real estate; supporting planning applications and expert witness for sport and leisure developments; market and financial feasibility studies; procurement strategies and management of tendering processes for leisure operations.

Bridget Baker: Originally from a hotel industry operational background Bridget has worked as a consultant since 1990. She was a Senior Consultant at PKF and Managing Consultant at HLL Humberts Leisure.Working independently since 2006 she has undertaken assignments in the UK, Europe, The Middle East and Africa. Bridget is a fellow of the British Association of Hospitality Accountants. Her particular areas of expertise include: The conference and exhibition markets including operational reviews, strategic planning and feasibility studies; expert witness and advice for planning appeals for hotel projects; financial market due diligence; strategic advice and hotel operational reviews; hotel market demand and financial feasibility studies.

Lynne Snow: A ‘hands on’ operational manager, Lynne has a depth of practical experience in the management of hotels and conference centres. Starting her career with DeVere Hotels she quickly rose to become a General Manager with Crest and then Forte Hotels. In 1995 she took over the management of Aston Business School Conference Centre and in 1999 became Head of University Conference Services and Director of Conference Aston. Since becoming an independent consultant in 2008 she has undertaken diverse assignments including the opening of a new non-residential conference centre in Birmingham and chairing the inaugural European Conference for the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) in the UK. Lynne’s specialist skills include: General operations management; managing change; business planning; value engineering; new build operations and planning; business process improvement; success through people; sales and operations synergy; customer focus for added value and revenue development.

Stella Stroud: Following management training with Sheraton hotels, Stella worked in sales and marketing roles at hotel and group level. In 1989 she joined PKF as a consultant and then in 1992 became Marketing and Consultancy Manager for Mazard Hotel Management, a company that specialised in management of hotels and conference facilities that were in receivership or experiencing financial difficulties. Mazard was successful in assisting numerous hotels to improve trading and profitability preparing them either for independent operation or for financial restructuring or sale.In 2000 Stella returned to operational management as Sales & Marketing Director of Chewton Glen, a 5-star country house hotel. She became an independent consultant in 2005 and has since undertaken assignments in the UK and overseas.Stella’s specialist skills include: sales management and planning; customer relationship management; revenue management; financial planning; preparation of effective sales action plans; a thorough knowledge of marketing, promotions and advertising in the hospitality industry; reservations and bookings management and systems.

IN THE CURRENT VOLATILE ECONOMIC CLIMATE?

As members of the Golf Consultants Association, John Ashworth Associates provides services to the leisure, sports and tourism industries across the commercial, public and voluntary sectors.

The company’s main areas of business comprise: Project concept and viability studies; New investment appraisals; Business planning; Site development options appraisals; Economic impact assessments; Sports & Recreation strategic planning; Market demand analysis; Procurement strategy & implementation including Soft market testing; Providing expert witness evidence for planning applications; Open Space and PPG17 studies; Due diligence investigations and future trading prospects for buyers.

In a recent interview John Ashworth outlined the key areas that Golf Clubs need to consider in order to maximise every potential source of income in the present economic climate: “With more and more customers having to budget their leisure activities,and faced with the trend away from traditional golf club membership in favour of more flexible payment optionsClubs really do need to ‘think outside the box’; to ask themselves ‘What business are we in?’. If the answer is something more than simply ‘golf’, the opportunities for widening their customer base become more apparent. For example,  by obtaining a license to conduct wedding ceremonies on the premises,  clubs will be able to attract couples to exchange their vows, have their reception and their evening wedding celebrations under the same roof.”

“Or they can attract a wider audience – what about karaoke nights or Wii based fun nights to attract a younger market?

Under used rooms in clubhouses can be hired out, for example to yoga or Pilates teachers to run classes at an hourly rate; but that generates small levels of income and may cost more to administer than the benefits it provides. For clubs with surplus space prepared to accept a more permanent arrangement, a rental agreement for a Pilates studio could be the answer.

“We own and operate a Pilates studio located in a golf club in Hertfordshire, UK (see www.perfectfitpilates.com). We rent about 1500 sq.ft. of space at a commercial rent. The studio is divided into two parts by a partition wall, one part used for mat classes, the other for exercise on Pilates machines. The club provided the shell, and we have invested in the fit out and equipment.”

TO MAXIMISE THE ASSETS OF YOUR GOLF CLUB CONTACT:

JOHN ASHWORTH ASSOCIATES

We worked with Aecom on a Warranted Investment Appraisal of a proposed indoor golf arena in Holland. The design is in the shape of a golf club driver. A hotel, club facilities, retail and dining are located at the shaft end of the driver. The head is domed and covers 14,000 sq.m. of synthetic grass including practice pitching and chipping greens, bunkers and putting greens. 20 golf simulators and 28 indoor range bays also are included in the design.

Our task involved an assessment of the market for indoor golf, both locally and internationally, and quantification of visitor demand in terms of numbers and spend. We drew on examples within Holland and in the rest of Europe. Our findings fed into a model constructed by Aecom, through which the team were able to evaluate the level of capital investment which could be justified by estimated future streams of income and to propose changes to the concept where that would lead to improved income levels.

The first concerned the proposed development of an old cinema where local planning policy required the continuation of some leisure use alongside more commercially attractive alternative uses; and in the second, we appeared at a local inquiry on behalf of a golf course owner applying for permission to build a second 18 hole golf course on his site using landfill.

Prior to that, we gave evidence at an appeal in a case where the developer applied to build a residential block on an existing tennis club site. As well, we provided an independent assessment at the request of the local planning authority of the business case for the construction of holiday lodges on a golf course. One of our associates, Bridget Baker Consulting, prepared evidence in support of an application for development of a 50 bedroom hotel and spa alongside a championship golf course. And we appeared to give evidence at an Independent Examination of a Local Action Plan for a new town within the Local Development Framework planning process of an authority in Cambridgeshire.

The issues that typically confront both applicants and planning authorities in these cases include the need to maintain leisure activity on a site, or make alternative provision close by, if the main purpose of the proposal is not leisure related, unless the applicant can demonstrate that there is no longer a local need for the leisure use; and the value of and rationale for developer contributions to community infrastructure created by the development. Then there are always the issues of building in environmentally sensitive locations and ensuring that national and local planning policies are complied with.

But the problem is not always at the operating unit level. Group finances may be overstretched, which can lead to decisions to offload individual properties that are not mainstream to the group’s core business. Or, creditors may have forced a sale. For buyers with in-house resources, there are good deals to be had, but a thorough understanding of the potential of the target business is essential if poor investments are to be avoided.   

2011 saw us involved in assisting two prospective purchasers – one of a commercial golf club previously owned by Crown; and one of a resort hotel and spa placed in the hands of an Administrator. Our role in both cases has been to review the past and current trading performance of the business; assess the existing and likely future market demand; and prepare future earnings estimates on which a valuation of the business can be based and a bid formulated.

The first concluded successfully for our client purchaser; the second is ongoing.

We have helped several local authorities to review the strategic option of putting the management of their golf courses out to the private sector. We have worked alongside other members of the Golf Consultants Association, in particular Mark Smith of Smith Leisure, in order to give a complete turnkey service to our clients.

The process typically involves us reviewing the existing in house operation of the golf course and associated facilities to determine the extent of potential benefit to the local authority of outsourcing the management. Then if the potential is attractive, of coordinating a soft market testing campaign among private operators to confirm the level of interest. Formal procurement procedures can then be initiated if the local authority chooses to go ahead.

Golf courses that once were cash generators for authorities have suffered from competition from a growth in the number of commercial pay and play clubs, as well as from the national trend of fewer rounds of golf being played on the country’s golf courses. Private operators bring specialist golf management skills and in some cases, much needed new investment in courses and other facilities; and by providing the authorities with a guaranteed rental income, take away the risk of losses. 

However, in these difficult economic times, willing operators are not so easy to come by; and only the right deals will attract the market.

We have been involved with two local authorities recently where a formal procurement process has been instituted. EU procurement rules are complicated and can get in the way of a successful outcome if not managed well.  Both procurements reached a successful conclusion via different paths. In one, the golf course was let to a private operator in a straight forward property deal. In the other, we followed the competitive dialogue process, which led to different management and financial solutions from four shortlisted bidders. The winning bid met the authority’s target for a guaranteed annual rental income, and included a promise of substantial capital investment into the golf facility – see http://golfconsultants.co.uk/news/20-04-12mytime-swings-into-action-at-dibden-golf-centre/.

We assisted South Bucks District Council to evaluate the business case for the construction of a new golf clubhouse at Farnham Park Golf Course. The alternative would be to repair and refurbish the existing clubhouse.

The new clubhouse will have a floor space area of about 900m2. The Council plans to hold private functions such as weddings and training seminars, as well as catering for the needs of golf societies and corporate/charity days.

We built a financial model of the operation of the new clubhouse, enabling us to test the impact on the viability of the proposed development of changes in key variables such as visitor numbers to the golf course and green fee prices. We also analysed the local market for golf in terms of supply and demand and the level of local competition.

Our recommendations supported the new build option and the Council have resolved to support renewal as opposed to refurbishment.