Butcombe Group, has evolved from its Channel Islands heritage into a leading UK hospitality powerhouse. Backed by Caledonia Investments, the company has expanded rapidly over the past five years, tripling its estate through strategic acquisitions. Today, Butcombe Group operates almost 100 managed sites, ranging from traditional country pubs and London city pubs to Butcombe Boutique Inns, establishing itself as a flagship for premium hospitality experiences. Its operations also include brewery, warehousing, and distribution across England and the Channel Islands, all supported by Shield Safety.
Highly respected within the sector, Butcombe Group has been a multiple-time winner of Pub Company of the Year and Best Managed Pub Company for three consecutive years. Renowned for their commitment to quality and service, Butcombe and Shield Safety are a natural fit. Shield Safety is the UK’s only accredited Safe to Trade certification body, a mark of operational excellence and customer trust. For Butcombe Group, Safe to Trade is a strategic imperative, underpinning their commitment to safety, compliance, and reputation. Their success is driven by market research, demographic targeting, and a loyalty programme that leverages data analytics to enhance customer experience. At its core, Butcombe’s concept of value is built on quality and experience, aiming to make every pub visit a special occasion.
“Sensible investment in refurbishments and a focus on food development have helped us carve out a niche and win awards, even in a challenging market.”
Freddy Ridgway, Facilities Manager, Butcombe Group.
The challenge
Rapid growth and increasingly complex operations, including boutique inns, a brewery, distribution warehouses, retail shops, and staff housing; created a pressing need for robust, scalable health and safety systems.
As Butcombe Group expanded, leadership recognised that strengthening health & safety and food safety was essential for their next phase of growth. While their incumbent compliance partner provided a basic framework, several limitations became apparent:
- Software and system issues caused inefficiencies and limited insight.
- Unstructured audit advice did not always address the highest-risk areas or provide actionable guidance.
- Limited support and responsiveness, leaving operational teams without confidence in compliance decisions.
- Audit frequency and scope that did not reflect the true risk profile of the estate.
- Lack of tailored support required for a diverse range of business units.
These gaps made it difficult for Butcombe to achieve the visibility, structure, and integration needed to manage compliance effectively across a diverse business model. To protect their reputation and empower their teams, the business needed a unified, tailored solution capable of delivering strategic insight and operational control. A solution that ultimately led them to Shield Safety and their journey to Safe to Trade certification.
Support
Shield Safety provided the answer with its market-leading, integrated solution, ‘Shield Assure – Hospitality’. Butcombe Group leverages ‘Shield Assure – Hospitality’ for
- Food Safety and Health & Safety Management Systems
- Comprehensive audit programme
- Ongoing monitoring and expert safety advice line
- RiskProof for site-level and estate-level risk insight
- Bespoke training
- Safe to Trade (STT) certification process in progress
Eliminating the need for separate systems and enabling seamless growth.
“We use all aspects of what Shield offer. Consultancy, fire risk assessments, monitoring checklists, health and safety and food safety policies and audits. It can really be tailored as to specifically what you need.”
Freddy Ridgway, Facilities Manager, Butcombe Group
Onboarding Shield Assure – Hospitality was seamless, supported by intuitive usability, prior staff experience, and 24/7 guidance. Many managers and chefs were already familiar with Shield Safety, which made training and adoption smoother.
Ridgway went on to highlights some of the tangible improvements which Butcombe Group have seen so far:
- Implementation of RiskProof for enhanced insight into site-level and estate-wide risks
- Strategic guidance on internal audit and governance structures
- Integration of compliance into business strategy, beyond “tick-box” exercises
- Reduction of audit frequency from four to two per year, enabled by smarter internal governance
- Active relationship management, including participation in Butcombe’s annual team celebration
Rob Easton, Strategic Risk and Safety Director, noted:
“Working with Butcombe Brewery has been a true partnership. We’ve helped them strengthen their safety and compliance frameworks in a way that supports their growth ambitions, and it’s been fantastic to see the impact on their team and customers alike.”
“It’s obvious that it can really be tailored as to specifically what you need… It’s never going to reach a point where you can’t move any further. It grows with you.”
Freddy Ridgway
Facilities Manager, Butcombe Group
The impact
‘Shield Assure – Hospitality’ is now integral to Butcombe Group’s long-term business goals and growth strategy. Centralised, independent audits every six months, weekly compliance reports and monthly reviews ensure high standards and proactive risk management. The system’s flexibility allows for tailored checklists and risk assessments, proactive health and safety management, and assured advice from qualified environmental health practitioners.
“It’s very much ingrained into our long-term business goals and growth, and the system grows with us. Because of the RiskProof software, it can be adapted for all of our businesses-brewery, hotels, pubs, distribution centres, staff houses, retail shops. You don’t need a separate system for each.”
Freddy Ridgway
Shield Safety has made health and safety management accessible and proactive, enabling process improvements, a cultural shift in safety, and a ground-up overhaul of allergen management. Incident response has improved, strengthening Butcombe Group’s reputation through more professional and empathetic handling.
Rob Easton, added:
“Butcombe is one of the most respected pub companies in the industry, and we’re proud to play a role in supporting their operational excellence. Their commitment to safety goes far beyond ticking boxes; it’s integral to their business strategy, and that’s inspiring to work with.”
The partnership has reinforced Butcombe’s reputation as a trusted and award-winning operator, while enabling growth with confidence.