Greene King's long-standing boss Rooney Anand intends to step down as chief executive of the FTSE 250 firm at the end of the financial year ending April 30, 2019. One of a handful of BAME bosses at FTSE firms, Anand has been with the brewer and landlord since 2001. He was steered the business through some tough times. Anand said Greene King is performing ahead of the market, adding that with a “strong team” in place, “the time is now right for me to hand over the baton.”
Headquartered in sleepy Bury St Edmunds, Greene King is worth £2bn, towering over the likes of Wetherspoon and Mitchells & Butlers. Founded in 1799 by 19 year old Benjamin Greene, it wasn't until 1887 that the brewery merged with Frederick King's St Edmunds operations. The company was opening brewhouses by the turn of the century. Anand's time in Greene King has been something of a rollercoaster, he reveals. The brewery's stock market value shrank to less than £400m during the credit crunch, and it was worth £3bn at its peak.
“It's flown by. That's my overriding sentiment. I can't believe it's been 18 years. I haven't enjoyed every minute. There have been some times that have felt difficult and challenging. But for the most part I've loved it,” Anand said. He reflexively insists he has “no regrets” of his time with Greene King. However, he added, “I do in my more wistful moments think, would you have done certain things differently.”
After moving to Walsall aged two from India, Anand's father, a surgeon, and mother, an anaesthetist, had hoped their son would follow them into medicine. However, Rooney enrolled in a construction course at old Bristol Poly, after seeing his uncle make some money over in the Middle East in engineering. Anand has warm memories of his upbringing and parents. “Most Asian parents, it's clichéd I know, want their children to be doctors, lawyers, or accountants,” he said. He soon realised the building lark wasn't for him and joined United Biscuits, after undertaking an MBA, where he had his first taste of marketing. After different marketing-type roles followed at Terry's Confectionery and pudding maker Sara lee, he moved to Greene King as head of brewing. Anand had earlier confessed that he soon settled in to life near Cambridge, and when he was made chief executive in 2004, he wasted no time in growing the business, leading a £254million takeover of Scots rival Belhaven just a year later.
Acquisitions of Loch Fyne and Laurel Inns soon followed. His biggest deal was for Spirit Pubs in 2014 for £774 million. While Greene King doubled in size by the time he took over from long-term chief Tim Bridges in 2005, Anand insists the company remains “an intuitive organisation. “There are not a lot of manuals on the shelf in Greene King. But there's no getting away from it, it's now a national company.” The Spirit Pubs acquisition was a game-changer moment. “The real estate that Spirit has given us is chance-in-a-lifetime stuff,” Anand said.
Meanwhile, Anand is on the hunt for a new job. “I think I worked it out, that keeps me busy for about 50pc of a normal working month. Then, we’ll see … I might play a little more golf,” he adds, somewhat unconvincingly. And I’ll spend more time with my wife,” he said. “But I’m not sure she’s looking forward to that.”
