Richardson's Leisure boss sees investment as key to success

Richardson's Leisure - owner of a wide portfolio of leisure park, boating and other hospitality operations in East Anglia - has ploughed money and resources into its operations during and since the pandemic.

It's been part of a conscious effort to ensure that the business emerges into "normal" times on the front foot and ready to secure new business.

"We have got to try and find some sort of normal out of these three years," explained Richardson's chief executive Greg Munford. "It's very difficult when you look to benchmark where your performance should be."

The effects of the lockdown periods during the pandemic - when foreign holidays were banned - has been extraordinary for tourism businesses in East Anglia. It was already a UK holiday hotspot, but records were broken and armies of new visitors descended.

This year, with airports fully operational and preparing for the big summer holiday exodus, businesses in the East will have their work cut out to ensure they hang on to the gains they have made.

Greg and others like him in the industry believe their investment in stock and infrastructure - and their workers - during the unprecedented pandemic period and beyond will pay off this year.

"I think for anybody investing in their product the opportunity is there," he said.

In the year to the end of October 2019, in the pre-pandemic era, the company's turnover was £11m - the last comparable point. In 2020, it was about £9m. Last year it was £13m. In the extraordinary 2021 season, it reached a record figure - £15m.

He's not expecting to attain those heady heights in a much more competitive environment this year. His business - like all businesses - are also facing soaring costs putting pressure on margins while the cost-of-living crisis means householders are looking for good value. But he is hoping investments across the board will now pay off.

For Greg, his workers are hugely important and pay has risen to reflect that. Two pay increases last year - the second to offset the effect of the cost-of-living crisis on workers - brought wages up about 9% and this year another 9.4% is on the cards for the workforce, which peaks at around 180 in the peak period from April to October.

They are the ones delivering great experience to guests and the value of that can't be under-estimated, he said.

When government help arrived in 2020 to help businesses through Covid, those businesses that were performing well had an opportunity to invest in what they had.

"That's exactly what we did," said Greg. They looked at improving customer experience and invested in employees. 

"The most important thing in our industry is that customer service our team provides."

Overseas competition has always been there, he said, but attitudes are changing.

"What we have seen in recent times is although they will go overseas, people have more of a holiday portfolio now. They will want to make as much of their free time as possible. They will have a mixture of short holidays and breaks," he said.

"What we can't compete with as a guarantee is the weather but actually we exceed in so many other areas - customer service and length of time to travel, the waiting time to get there."

UK summers are getting hotter, and post-Covid, perceptions have changed. "People did realise there's more to a holiday than just lying in the sunshine," he said. "There's so much to see and do in all our coastal locations."

Bookings are on a par with where they were this time last year - suggesting that for the region's tourism businesses, this year will be very similar to 2022 - in spite of the effect of inflation on household budgets. "I think people are more conscious they do need a work-life balance and they do need a date in the diary where they are going to go away - whether it's couples, solos or with family."

Holidays are almost not a discretionary spend - but how much holidaymakers spend while they are away is, he said.

"That's why as a domestic holiday businesses we have to keep reinvesting," he said. "It's a very precious time - we must endeavour to exceed their expectations."

For those staying on land Richardsons have invested in their facilities - and activities. It's a much more sophisticated offer than that of years ago, and includes archery, sea scooters and climbing walls.

For those boating on the broads, they have been busy investing in new vessels, and renovating and refreshing their offer.

The firm's biggest investment was in creating one holiday park out of two separate ones.

"Since then we have spent over £18m in investing in both our boating and our holiday park product as well as our day boat operation," said Greg.

The business has a family entertainment centre with bowling lanes at Lowestoft which is doing "extremely well", and a day boats operation at Wroxham.

"I think again it's about how people are choosing to spend their free time - they are looking to do something different," he said.

Many in the industry and wider economy share the company's belief that tourism businesses that choose to invest in a great offer will continue to thrive - in spite of this year's challenges.

C-J Green, chair of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said Norfolk and Suffolk had "a fantastic tourism offer" - although seasonality was a challenge.

"Our ambition is to develop a year-round sustainable visitor economy so we can look at diverse markets and attract people seeking short, affordable breaks in the shoulder and off-peak seasons," she said.

“Businesses need to invest in their products and take advantage of the support available, such as our Business Transition to Net Zero Grants, and mentoring through the Scale Up New Anglia programme."

James Shipp, who heads up the leisure and hospitality team at accountancy firm Lovewell Blake said those businesses in the hospitality, tourism and leisure sectors which are willing to invest are likely to reap the benefits.

However, he recognised this was a daunting prospect for some against a backdrop of rising interest rates and difficulties in securing loans. They would need a "stronger nerve" than in previous years - but believes the sector is in a strong position to capitalise on rising confidence later in the year.