Hampshire Pub Co operates a portfolio of pubs across the South Coast, including Rapscallions, Ripper & Co, The Bridge Tavern, and The Bird in Hand, with a new tiki concept launching shortly called Mahina. Each venue runs with a different service model, from walk-up bars to table-service and food-led pubs.
With ambitions to scale to 15 sites, the leadership team recognised that spreadsheets and instinct would not support the next phase of growth.
When you’re running a handful of pubs, you can keep everything in your head. Once you start growing, you can’t. Growth exposes everything.
Adam Lewis, Operations Manager at Hampshire Pub Co.
The challenge: Growth without workforce infrastructure
Before Nory, workforce management was spreadsheet-led. Scheduling, forecasting, and payroll consolidation were managed manually across multiple versions and files. Small formula errors created disproportionate problems. Reporting required hours of reconciliation. Payroll preparation alone could take up to two full days each month.
Forecasting was largely instinct-driven.
We were winging it. Trusting our guts.
As the estate expanded and concepts diversified, this model became fragile. There was no central source of real-time visibility across sites. Managers and head office often worked from different versions of the truth. For a business looking to grow, that lack of structure posed a risk.
The solution: Centralising workforce management with Nory
Hampshire Pub Co implemented Nory to centralise scheduling, forecasting, and labour reporting across the group.
Workforce processes are now structured within a defined weekly rhythm. Managers build schedules in-system. Head office reviews and approves shifts in real time. Labour performance is visible instantly across all venues.
Payroll preparation has shifted from manual consolidation to a single export.
What used to take me nearly two full days now takes less than an hour. I download one file, sense check it, and send it off. That’s it.
Adam Lewis, Operations Manager at Hampshire Pub Co.
Instead of managing spreadsheets, leadership now operates from one shared system.
The impact: From spreadsheet firefighting to strategic control
Across the group, labour-related admin time has been reduced by 50%. Leadership time has shifted from process management to performance analysis.
We’ve moved from firefighting spreadsheets to actually analysing the business. It’s less process, more strategy.
Conversations between general managers and head office are now grounded in shared data. There is no debate over whose numbers are correct. Everyone sees the same real-time view.
Clarity has improved not only cost control, but decision-making. With structured historical data in place, the group can evaluate new sites with greater confidence.
We’ve now got proper data to back up our decisions when we look at another site.
The future: Scaling with confidence
With a seventh site opening and further expansion planned, Hampshire Pub Co is focused on consolidating its estate before entering its next growth phase.
If we’re going to grow to 15 sites, the systems that underpin everything have to be strong.
By replacing spreadsheet dependency with structured workforce infrastructure, Hampshire Pub Co has built the operational foundation required to scale sustainably across multiple concepts.
