Grow and protect food and drink profits

Transform your food and drink operation with insight and advice from Venners hospitality industry consultants.

Profit consultants

Let our consultants help you tweak efficiencies and controls to create a more profitable hospitality business. Our experts deliver project-based work throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. They analyse real-time performance, processes and data for any food and drink operation.

Manage your operation better

Find out where the bigger ‘wins’ can be made for your business. Our consultants forensically determine root causes to financial losses and will help you discover new ways to increase profit. Delving deep into the financial and operational running of your business, they will highlight poor performance and give practical advice to:

Benchmark performance

Enhance efficiency

Grow profit

Reduce losses

Tackle fraud

Cut costs

Premium consultancy solutions

Get field-based insight for your operation with the help of our niche selection of consultancy services.

Profit protection

Identify business areas where a lack of controls may be eroding margin and profit. Our consultants will assess financial and operational procedures in your business, through a process called ‘follow the money’. Their advice will help you plug gaps in your revenue and cash flow, as well as streamline operational aspects, such as stock control, security and other profit protection controls in your operation.

Fraud investigation

Obtain the evidence you need to confirm suspicions of fraud or theft by your workforce. Our experts know all the tricks in the trade through which staff hide misdemeanours of fraud and theft and will unearth data to help you build your case. Our fraud investigation process can include covert observations, till analysis exercises, reconciling information to CCTV footage and cash and banking record checks.

Risk management

Get a real picture of site-based vulnerabilities to manage risk more effectively in your business. Our consultants will highlight operational inadequacies and financial gaps in your business, which directly or indirectly impact the success of your food and drink operation. They will help you understand the full spectrum of operational risks and provide practical recommendations to tackle them.

Covert bar surveillance

Find out everything you need to know to address losses in your bars. Our hospitality consultants will monitor employees through undercover observations, much like private detective investigations. They will monitor cash handling, service standards and discipline of bar and wait staff. Our covert surveillance activities are designed to gather evidence of staff theft and other risks to profitability in your bar areas.

Efficiency evaluation

Get a full performance review at branch level. Our consultants benchmark operational efficiency standards across your business, analysing processes, procedures, layouts and much more. They will score your field-based business units against each other and evaluate performance against best practice hospitality standards. Receive practical advice to get your operations running as smoothly and profitably as possible.

Food and drink cost control

Improve margins for your food and drink offer. Cost control consultancy projects include detailed analysis of food and drink costs, supplier agreements, stock control management, consumption and wastage. Our consultants will then help you tweak your menus, ordering procedures, service methods and other controls to keep costs minimal and achieve peak profitability for your food and drink offering.

Food waste reduction

Create a realistic food waste reduction plan for your business and address recurring wastage. Our consultants will help your business achieve sustainability goals, as well as demonstrate the added benefit food waste management has on improving margins and overall profits. Get coaching to improve processes such as stock rotation, wastage reporting practices, and more, to address food waste.

Menu engineering

Plan a more profitable menu with the help of our consultants. They will show you which menu items drive sales, profits and losses by reconstructing your GP in detail. Evaluating supplier costs, product yield, portion control and much more, our menu planning and menu engineering projects will help you to optimise menu profit margins. Give your menu the overhaul it needs to make more profit for your business.

Cash management

Maintain control over your business’ cash flow and revenue. Our consultants can do a full cash handling review of your business, analysing your business’ money flow from beginning to end. They can carry out unannounced audits to combat cash handling scams, or simply improve due dilligence of cash and revenue management, introducing reliable cash handling and revenue protection procedures.

Asset valuation

Get an accurate count and valuation of all your business assets. Our consultants can complete asset valuations for both scannable and non-barcoded items alike. As industry experts, they can evaluate values and volumes for any specialist product or high value asset, including fixtures and fittings. Useful when buying or selling property, or to outline financial information on assets for investors or key business stakeholders.

Inventory count

Get an accurate inventory catalogue for your stock or products. Ideal for supply chain, warehouses, distribution centres and other storage venues that hold specialist products, especially if that inventory covers products that are spread far and wide geographically. Our consultants can set up any large scale counting job and can use barcode scanners as well as put a price on unscannable products.

Policy writing

Maintain and implement control in your business with effective policies and procedures. Our consultants will help you write and revise policies and procedures to protect your business from internal and external risks that threaten profits. They can fine tune financial policies and operational policies and coach you on the most effective methods of implementation.

Stock Analysis

Pinpoint the biggest areas of concern with your in-house stock control procedures.  Our focused stock analysis projects are designed to forensically examine stock movement and variances between a short period of time, such as a 5 to 7 day period. A great solution for clients who frequently receive poor stocktake results and are unable to find an effective resolution.

VENNERS TRAINING

Stock control training

Our consultants deliver introductory or refresher stock control training courses and one-to-one mentoring for your personnel. Great for those who are new to the job, or want to advance their stock control knowledge.

How we support

Covert investigation

Covert investigation

Our unique consultation process can include a partially undercover investigation. Discreetly observing staff and monitoring their behaviour and actions can be key to getting to the root of complex operational and financial issues.

Problem solving

Problem solving

As part of every project, our consultants follow a problem solving process. Drawing on 127 years of hospitality data and reports, they will provide insight into root causes, benchmark site-level performance, and deliver viable solutions to problems.

Mystery visit

Mystery visit

A mystery visit is often performed for projects which clearly exclude any alegations of staff theft or fraud. Our consultants can use this method to review customer service experience, sales performance, operational layouts and food and drink offerings.

Strategy consulting

Strategy consulting

Working with many senior and high-ranked managers, executives and business owners, our consultants frequently support strategic decision making. This includes data analysis, development of strategy and evidence based recommendations.

Our consultation process
is simple

Tell us about your challenges

Complete the form at the end of this page to get a call from our experts.

Define the project

Our consultants will outline the best approach to solving your problem.

Get a quote

Receive a bespoke quote for your required project.

Set a start date

The project will commence and we'll keep you up-to-date all the way through.

Get your report

Receive a full report and debrief, including findings and recommendations.

See profits grow!

Our consultants will set a review date with you so you can evidence ROI.

Get started now

Talk to our experts by filling in the form.


Get to know our lead consultant

Malcolm Muir, Consultancy Director for Venners, heads up our specialist team of consultants. Contact him directly to discuss your business’ challenges.