Running a spit roast business means you get to spend the summer outdoors. But be ready to work hard and to invest a lot of money in equipment.
Ian Huxham came to the UK in 1998 after his farm in Zimbabwe was ransacked by a mob of Robert Mugabe’s supporters. “I arrived in the UK with the tourist travel allowance of £2,000 and a suitcase of clothes,” he says.
Initially, he took a job managing a farm in Northumberland, but he always wanted to return to being his own boss. So, when he got the opportunity to join forces with a friend, who was running The Surrey Spit Roast Company, he jumped at the chance, even though he had little catering experience.
“I have always owned my own farm and wanted to work for myself,” Huxham says.
He joined the spit roast company as an employee but when his friend emigrated to Canada in 2006, Huxham decided to acquire the business.
He couldn’t afford to buy the business outright so the pair agreed that Huxham would pay £6,000 upfront, along with 50 per cent of the profits for two years. In return, he got all the equipment (worth about £20,000), the website and a customer base that included BP.
At the time, the business was turning over £45,000 and making a profit of £28,000. This was not enough to support Huxham and his family, especially as half the profits were being handed over as part of the deal, so Huxham decided to buy the Devonshire Arms, a pub on the outskirts of Bath, to give him an additional income and a base for the spit roast business.
The spit roast business is now growing strongly and Huxham believes it has lots of potential. For people looking to entertain large numbers, it is hassle-free, as well as affordable at £15 per head, and the sight of a whole animal on the spit is quite spectacular. When Huxham and a colleague arrive, they set up their equipment, roast the pig or sheep, provide all the side dishes, serve the food and clear up.
About 80 per cent of the business comes through the company’s website – which is impressive given that Huxham has spent no money on web optimisation and the site has not been updated for years. Huxham also estimates that 70 per cent of sales are repeat visits or referrals from existing customers.
Thanks to the internet, Huxham gets more jobs than he can handle and in the past he has subcontracted work to other caterers. But he stopped this because he had to deal with too many complaints about contractors who were late and rude to customers – he was concerned this would have an impact on his operations.
Sales are split roughly equally between catering for businesses and private parties. Huxham now thinks that he could get more work from the corporate hospitality market and wants to do sports events in the winter months when business is slow.
The profitability of each job depends on the meat that customers choose and the number of guests. Huxham estimates he can serve 100 people with one pig, which costs him £170, but he can only cater 40 with a lamb that costs £100. This means that charging £15 per head, the pig generates sales of up to £1,500 while the lamb produces up to £600.
Most of the other costs, such as gas, costs of the salads and transportation, are fixed. The exception is labour, which costs more for a pig because it takes longer to cook. It also takes staff longer to prepare the salads and side dishes for larger groups, raising the costs on these events.
The result is that a pig generates a profit of £830 – a 55 per cent margin – whereas Huxham earns just £120, or a 20 per cent margin, on a lamb meal. However, spit roasting is predominantly a weekend and seasonal business. Furthermore, these figures do not take into account the depreciation of capital equipment (see box).
Operating from the Devonshire Arms, Huxham looks well placed to expand his business – but he faces two big challenges.
The first is that, even though he pays his employees well, Huxham struggles to find people prepared to travel around the country, work antisocial hours, set up the roaster, cook and be polite to customers. His son is on the payroll and enjoys the work, but he is still at college and can only help out during the holidays.
The second challenge is that Huxham’s pub is operating in difficult conditions. In common with other tied landlords, rising costs and falling demand are squeezing the business.
The profits are too low to employ a manager and running the business is proving to be a major distraction. “Most days I work about 15 hours a day, and in the summer even longer,” Huxham explains
Ideally, he would sell his pub, free up some capital and invest further in the spit roast business. However, the market for tied lease pubs is awash with sellers.
Selling at current prices means realising a loss, something he is reluctant to do.
Huxham’s dream is within his grasp, but he may have to make some tough decisions. If he disposed of the pub, he would then have the time and money to dedicate to running a profitable business with great prospects.
