Shepherd Neame's tenanted support team;

Meet our tenanted team

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When it comes to running a pub with Shepherd Neame, we know that one size doesn’t fit all. Our pub partners are all independent entrepreneurs with a unique ambition for their business, and the role of our tenanted team is to support tenants in achieving their goals. The success of our approach is demonstrated by our many long-serving licensees, with the average length of partner tenure just over seven years. 

We're proud to say that the great relationships we have built with our pub partners are reflected in the high scores we received in the latest Licensee Index, an independent survey benchmaking us against our peers.

Find out more about some of our team and what they do for our tenants.

Roshna Ahmad, Wine Sales Development Manager at Shepherd Neame

Roshna Ahmad, Wine Sales Development Manager

Roshna previously worked for a French wine and food promotions agency and for Sensible Wine Services in West Kent before joining Shepherd Neame back in August 2002, originally working in a sales role before joining our tenanted team in 2005.

A large part of her role involves liaising with pub partners on their wine lists, including advising on pricing and range, as well as offering training for team members and hosting wine tasting and food matching events across the estate. She also keeps pub partners abreast of the latest developments in wines and spirits with regular e-newsletters and by hosting a stand at our regular Taste the Trends events (more on which below).

“I am passionate about wine, and love the variety of my role. Some of the most rewarding aspects are supporting new tenants and seeing their work come to fruition, and training sessions with team members where I can help them grow in confidence. I also really enjoy hosting events where I can introduce people to new wines – I think it helps them appreciate the pub experience more as a result.”

Discover our wines and spirits
Will Hilton, Business Development Manager for Shepherd Neame

Will Hilton, Business Development Manager

Will gained a degree in International Hospitality Management from Oxford Brookes University before working for a London media agency selling advertising for luxury fashion brands.

While at university he worked at Shepherd Neame in the holidays with the events team. He went on to join the company permanently in 2017, initially working in the sales team for five years before being promoted to his current role of Business Development Manager.

His role includes recruiting licensees for Shepherd Neame’s many tenanted pubs, and building a solid working relationship with them, which hopefully continues for many years. “Ensuring you put the right people in the right pub is incredibly important,” he said.

He also is instrumental in ensuring that licensees are able to run their business as they had planned, supporting them to keep the pub well maintained and help maximise sales across the board.

“The most rewarding part of my job is going through the recruitment process and getting to see them take their vision for the pub from the planning stage through to making it happen. It is a real privilege to be able to support them as they implement their business plan and make their dream a reality.” 

Lucy Knox Menu Development and Food Safety - Tenanted and Leased - for Shepherd Neame

Lucy Knox, Menu Development and Food Safety

Lucy joined Shepherd Neame in April 2017, after winning a scholarship to the Peter Kump Cookery School in New York following completion of a degree in Home Economics. From there, she became cookery editor of Woman & Home and Now, working with Marco Pierre White to produce his weekly food page in the Daily Mirror. During a long career in national media as a food writer, she had a food and drink column in the Daily Mirror’s magazine M, and worked with chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Gary Rhodes, James Martin and Jamie Oliver. She has also published nine cookery books.

Her role with Shepherd Neame has grown since 2017, thanks to factors including greater licensee engagement and new legislation. Today she ensures licensees receive support tailored to their business and works on bespoke menus, seasonal ones and for key dates.

“It is a broad and varied role which covers all food aspects of the business for the whole tenanted estate - about 230 sites - from supplier sourcing, food trend-watching, market analysis, menu advice, copywriting and development, to advising on kitchen hygiene, allergens and food safety!” she said.

“It is an incredibly rewarding job - especially when the hard work pays off and you help the licensees transform their ideas into a safe, successful and profitable business."

“When I started at Shepherd Neame, menu development was the sole focus. However, due to developments in the industry, the demands of the role, and skills required, have increased significantly - particularly when it comes to food safety. During this time I have also worked hard on my continuing professional development, allowing me to stay up to date with the latest food safety developments to ensure our licensees receive the best support possible.”

John Barnes, Head of Professional Property Services at Shepherd Neame

John Barnes, Head of Professional Property Services

John came to work at Shepherd Neame straight from university back in 2003. 

He has been in his department for around six years, having been recently promoted from Commercial Estates Manager. 

His role involves dealing with a range of landlord and tenant issues, as well as lease renewals and handling disposal of Shepherd Neame assets no longer fitting the company’s current business needs as well as the purchase of new sites and other assets.

He also handles issues relating to business rates, rent renewals and the renewal of leases for tenants.

He says of the most rewarding parts of working for the company:

“Obviously beer and visiting plenty of pubs! Also there is a great social side to working for Shepherd Neame – I am a member of our Team Extreme and get involved in challenges such as ultra marathons for charity.”

See our Sheps Giving initiatives
Taste the Trends event at the Old Brewery Store in the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham, Kent

Taste the Trends

Pub partners are invited to meet our team at regular Taste the Trends events held in The Old Brewery Store at our Faversham Brewery.

We organise a free day of talks, demonstrations and samplings, with support from a range of our suppliers and producers.
These take place twice a year - in February to offer advice and ideas ahead of the summer season, and in September to help prepare for Christmas.

They always prove popular events, with pub partners enjoying the opportunity to visit the brewery, meet other licensees and suppliers, and chat to our team.

Contact us

Our friendly team are happy to answer any questions you may have, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Call our Tenanted Recruitment and Onboarding Manager on 01795 542132 or 07783 849553 or send us an email.

Email the team