Women to the fore

Entrepreneurial expertise runs in the family. Lauren’s three older brothers Scott, Dean and Iain all run their own companies and she grew up among a culture of hard work and long hours

When she completed her education at the Ackworth Quaker School she initially planned to go on to university to study sports science. But after a year spent working towards a foundation degree at Leeds University she realised that was not how she wanted to spend the next three years and looked towards a career in accountancy instead.

Then, when she was aged 19, her brothers decided to buy The Alpha Club, a run down working men’s club in their home town of Hemsworth which had just come onto the market. They knew the club, they knew their customer base and they knew just the person to run it - their little sister Lauren.

“Once they got the finance sorted,” says Lauren, “ My oldest brother Scott said: “Come on Lauren, here’s an opportunity for you, So I applied for my personal licence to sell alcohol and decided to give it a try.”

“We didn’t do much to it at first but have since added a function room.” Buoyed by the success of the Alpha, which was well received by the local community, the Devines cast their net wider. When a second run down club became available in Ackworth, Lauren had no hesitation in agreeing to take that on as well.

“The former Moor Top Working Men’s Club, now the Frog and Moose, was in a very poor state,” says Lauren. The original building dates back to 1907 and when we bought it there was no electricity and we were walking around it in the dark trying to plan the layout”.

Lauren was involved every step of the way from working with the builders to decide which walls to knock down to choosing the furniture, fabrics and colour scheme for the interior.

“I knew I wanted something bright and modern and that I wanted to move away from the traditional club atmosphere,” she says.

“I wanted it to appeal to families but also to be a place where young people could come on a Friday and Saturday night and enjoy a drink in pleasant surroundings.

“My brothers have guided me through the whole process but as I gained more experience they backed off, though they are there if I need them.

“We initially encountered hostility with the licensing authorities as it had such a poor reputation in the past but we persuaded them to let us go ahead.”

The Frog and Moose opened in July 2012. “It looks nothing special from the outside but once through the doors it’s completely different,” says Lauren, who celebrated the opening of the pub’s new Italian restaurant on March 19.

In 2013 Lauren launched her company Nostell Leisure with the encouragement of her family. “They just said: ‘do you want to be involved in management? and I thought why not, so I said yes.

“Having responsibility for two pubs and running the company didn’t really scare me - I like responsibility.”

Lauren has found her age and sex were initially a barrier in the male-dominated world of pub management.

“ I had to work really hard to put my point across but once people realised I knew What I was talking about it was fine.”