All's Well

In the third of our Adopted Business revisits, Helen Adkins visits Nick Wainford at the Well House hotel in Cornwall to discover how business has been faring over the past few years.

"We're the Adopted Business you expected to fail, but we're doing incredibly well at the moment," exclaims a cheerful Nick Wainford, proprietor of the Well House hotel in Cornwall. "Everything has come right for us."

It's true. After 14 years of ups and downs, the hard work and dogged determination put into the nine-room hotel and restaurant is, at last, paying off. Since 2000, occupancy has been up from 75% to 90% in the summer, and from 30% to 65% in the winter. Christmases and New Years are fully booked - but they have been for the past 10 years. Covers are up by 15% and average spend in the restaurant is up from £38 to £43. It looks like the fortunes of Caterer's 1994 Adopted Business have turned a corner.

Wainford puts his recent success down to four factors. First is hard work - he has barely had a day off in the past decade. Second is always reinvesting in the business. Third is never lowering standards, even when times are at their hardest - Wainford is proud that the hotel has kept its rosettes and stars throughout. The fourth factor is, simply, luck. A few years ago, Wainford discovered that he was sitting on a gold mine because, in 2000, the Eden Project opened 14 miles away from the hotel and it has changed everything.

"Last year was our best year yet, and it was down to the Eden Project," he explains. "It was unbelievably lucky for us. People began to flood into Cornwall as soon as it opened. They expected three-quarters of a million visitors but got one-and-a-half million instead, and it's had a significant effect on our business from day one."

The project has brought an estimated £110m into Cornwall's economy in the past eight months and has had a direct impact on the hotel. While Wainford declines to give exact turnover figures, he reveals that income has doubled in two years and turnover for 2001 was up by 30% on that of 2000, while this year's turnover is up by 25% on last year's.

The restaurant is also doing well, with covers up by 15% since 2000 to 150-180 per week in the summer, dropping to just under 100 in winter. Set menu prices have gone up from £29.50 for three courses to £32.50, and average spend is now £43.

Wainford can now invest seriously in the hotel. Last year he ploughed £50,000 into refurbishment, but this year he intends to put between £150,000 and £200,000 into adding two new conservatories. This will enable the restaurant to be extended from 32 seats to 48, and will add an extra two or three bedrooms. He's also considering covering the outdoor swimming pool and adding a gym at some point in the future.

Employing new staff is also on the agenda. The hotel's restaurant manager, Guy Down, is due to get a new assistant, while head chef Matthew Corner will be getting an extra pair of hands in the kitchen.

Wainford hopes that this means he will be able to take some time out at last. "I haven't taken a holiday in 10 years," he says. "I used to be known as Mr Do-It-All, because I did everything. Now I'll be able to concentrate on looking after customers and developing the wine list. I might even get away a bit."

The story so far…

Nick Wainford left a life in public relations in London 14 years ago to open the Well House hotel in Cornwall. In addition to a minority stake supplied by friend and business associate Ione Nurdin, he invested a personal fortune of £400,000 into the hotel, and in 1989 won the Catey for Best Newcomer. Yet, despite winning two AA red stars and three rosettes, running the business has been far from smooth. For the first seven years the hotel made a loss. Then, in the early 1990s, recession hit and property prices fell, sending the business into negative equity.

Well House hotel

St Keyne, Liskeard, Cornwall PL14 4RN
Tel: 01579 342001
Web site:www.wellhouse.com

Proprietor: Nick Wainford
Hotel and restaurant manager: Guy Down
Head chef: Matthew Corner
Staff: 15
Bedrooms: nine
Restaurant: 32 seats/covers; 150-180 daily in summer; 100 daily in winter
Rates: £110 to £160
Occupancy: 75% to 90% in summer; 30% to 65% in winter