Prosper Spring

More documents

Recommendations

Info

IN PROFILE: DAVE ROBERTS, MD, WOLVERHAMPTON RACECOURSE And I’m off – but I’ve had a brilliant time! David Roberts, Managing Director of Wolverhampton Racecourse and a longstanding supporter and champion of the Chamber, retires shortly after 23 years in the saddle – to excuse the pun. He spoke to <strong>Prosper</strong> about his time at the course and his plans for the future. There is an obvious problem with being the boss of a racecourse: everyone always asks you for tips. But...“they don’t ask twice,” says David Roberts, managing director of Wolverhampton Racecourse, laughing. “My friends know better, put it that way. I am not a good source of advice on the horses.” That may seem odd for a man whose working days are spent at the course but he sees the attraction of horse racing differently to those who love a flutter. “I love watching the horses. They are beautiful, thoroughbred animals, who love doing what they do. I like watching a race and seeing all the horses come home safely. That’s where I get my buzz from the track. “I rarely gamble. I went to Ascot last year and had one bet; I’ll have a bet on the Grand National like everyone else, perhaps one on the Gold Cup if I’m down at Cheltenham, but that will be it for me.” David will be saying goodbye to the racecourse soon though he won’t be severing his ties completely. “I am retiring, but I’ve accepted an ambassadorial role with ARC Racing and Leisure Group, which owns Wolverhampton and another 15 courses around the country. It’s the best of both worlds: I’ll still be able to catch up with the racing and enjoy the courses – but with none of the day-to-day responsibility. Perfect!” His time at Wolverhampton has been, in his words, “wonderful.” “I’ve had a great time, met so many wonderful people. I have been very lucky: I tell people I’ve never had a proper job; just something I’ve done ‘‘ I’ve had a great time; I’ve been very lucky. I tell people that I’ve never had a proper job... justsomething I’ve done gladly, but they’ve paid me for doing it. gladly, but they’ve paid me for doing it. It’s been brilliant.” His satisfaction with his career is possibly linked to the fact that it’s always been based in the leisure sector. Before moving to Wolverhampton and ARC in 1999 he spent 23 years with Scottish & Newcastle, as a General Manager in its Pontins operation. “I managed a number of the biggest Pontins sites: Torquay, Brixham, Blackpool. I loved my time there. It’s great when your place of work is somewhere other people have fun.” Having said that, there has always been a very serious side to his role at Wolverhampton. “The very nature of what we do has meant we’ve had to instigate very strict health and safety conditions and conduct rigorous risk assessments. It shows just how far my role has evolved over the years. “Before I joined the role was more focused on the racing side: making sure the track and stables were in good condition, and the horses, jockeys and trainers were happy. Managing things like the catering was out-sourced. “Today being the MD is much more multi-faceted. We are a major conferencing, hotel and leisure facility, and my brief is to keep all that running smoothly.” The addition of the Holiday Inn ‘‘ hotel to the site has boosted the conference and events side, and the hotel remains a key part of the overall package. “The Holiday Inn is running at 85 per cent occupancy, which is great. Diversifying our offer has been crucial.” Other events away from the racing also boost the coffers. “As a lot of racecourses are doing, we are always looking at adding to the visitor experience. We’ve invested heavily in the hotel and the dining suites over the years, and added a little glitter to race meetings. We put on concerts, have family fun days with bouncy castles everywhere, and our firework night in November attracted over 17,000 people.” The ability to put on these events was massively curtailed by Covid-19, and for a long time the future of sporting and leisure venues looked uncertain. It’s perhaps surprising, therefore, that David was always confident Wolverhampton Racecourse would cope. “Our business model is, perhaps, different to how people imagine it. “We are part of the Arena Racing Company, and the pictures from our course are sold around 22 PROSPER SPRING 2023
IN PROFILE: DAVE ROBERTS, MD, WOLVERHAMPTON RACECOURSE the world. The company’s finances are balanced between income from the tracks and from the overseas rights, so during the pandemic, as long as we could get racing, albeit without crowds, quickly, we were going to be okay.” As it turns out, horse racing was one of the first two sporting events to get the go-ahead from the Government when Covid restrictions began to lift. “It was horse racing and snooker,” he recalls. “I missed the crowds being part of the experience, but running the course during the pandemic wasn’t all bad. It brought the horse racing community together. On race days there would be just the course staff and the jockeys, stable lads and lasses and the trainers, and we became a tight-knit community. Usually on race days I’ve a lot of things to look after and people to talk to, but things slowed down a little and we got to know the horse racing community better than before. I had time to chat to people I don’t usually catch up with. It was an unexpected bonus from a difficult situation.” ‘‘ The racecourse is in fine fettle... customer feedback is great, and backed by the hotel and conferencing, things will go from strength to strength... ‘‘ As he leaves the racecourse, he believes it is in fine fettle. “We’re in a good place. The raceday offer is as popular as ever. We’ve just had a big day last Saturday and we’ve had great feedback. We ran a special offer to attract people in and we had a lot of first-time racegoers with us, and it looks like they had a great time. Backed by the hotel and the conferencing arm, things here will go from strength to strength.” The only clouds on the horizon are ones familiar to every business leader. “The red tape around running the course can be maddening. The problem we face is the Government applies a one-size-fits-all philosophy to health and safety, so the rules governing a crowd at, say, Wembley Stadium are the same as here. It is sometimes disproportionate to the risks involved.” He’s also concerned above rising prices. “The cost of eating and drinking out are rising at a worrying rate and it is getting to the point where the prices asked will stop people from going out. We’ve all seen the pub and restaurant closures on our high streets; we have to be careful that we don’t push the entertainment sector over the edge, as that would be a big loss to our communities.” But that apart, he has the challenge of retirement ahead of him. “I’m looking forward to getting out on my mountain bike, and I’ve got nine dogs to look after so I’ll be kept busy. “I’m also really looking forward to my new role with ARC: as I said before, all the fun and camaraderie, but a lot less fiscal responsibility. Marvellous.” Professional credit control for SMEs JCML Collections has over 17 years’ experience providing credit control services for small and medium-sized business across the Black Country. We handle your business’s credit collection sensitively, confidentially and professionally, boosting your cashflow and profitability, and ensuring your late payers do not become toxic bad debts. Credit Control All our credit control services are tailored to meet each client’s individual requirements, from chasing a few invoices each month to implementing complete credit control procedures. Short Term Support Outsourcing to our credit controllers will provide your business with additional support during the run up to year end, reducing aged debt in the ledger or covering staff who are on holiday or maternity leave. FREE 30 MINUTE CONSULTATION FOR CHAMBER MEMBERS In-house Training We can deliver professional training and employee development programmes that will give your team the tools they need to collect debt in the most effective manner. “Extremely happy with JCML’s work... they made getting involved simple and straight forward, and the work done has paid benefits several times over the very reasonable cost” Get in touch: t: 01384 255177 e: info@jcmlcollections.co.uk w: jcmlcollections.co.uk Transparency. Credibility. Trust.
Page 1: THE REGION’S LONGEST-RUNNING BUSI
Page 4 and 5: CONTACTS Editor Sarah Thompson 0330
Page 7 and 8: WELCOME As the economy continues to
Page 10 and 11: NEWS Apprentices backed to ‘futur
Page 12 and 13: NEWS Vishwas and Olu Students celeb
Page 14 and 15: NEWS BCC recruitment survey underli
Page 16 and 17: NEWS Encouraging male staff to seek
Page 18 and 19: PROSPER INTERVIEW Walsall’s acade
Page 20 and 21: PROSPER INTERVIEW: JAT SHARMA “Pe
Page 24 and 25: BUSINESS IS DONE BETTER TOGETHER Ma
Page 26 and 27: BUSINESS IS DONE BETTER TOGETHER: S
Page 28 and 29: BUSINESS IS DONE BETTER TOGETHER: W
Page 30 and 31: BUSINESS IS DONE BETTER TOGETHER: W
Page 32 and 33: Ground-breaking This is The Black C
Page 34 and 35: THIS IS THE BLACK COUNTRY: RESPONSE
Page 36 and 37: COMMERCIAL FEATURE: BUSINESS AND YO
Page 38 and 39: BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY Nicklin s
Page 40: EVENTS: CHAMBER EXPO Let’s Do Bus
Page 43 and 44: army of technical partners. “This
Page 45 and 46: ‘‘ In the event of a customer i
Page 47 and 48: ‘‘ “It is wrong to say that t
Page 49 and 50: making workplace cultures more age
Page 51 and 52: LGVs queue to enter the docks at Do
Page 53 and 54: See you Third Week Wednesday! Each
Page 55 and 56: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & TRAINING
Page 58 and 59: COMMERCIAL FEATURE: ART BUSINESS LO

Prosper Spring

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?