Performance Improvement in the Private Sector
Greene King partnered with Grant Thornton to deliver Project Nova, a group wide operational efficiency programme targeting £40m annual EBIT improvements across 2026–2030 while preserving a customer first culture, which ultimately mobilised impactful initiatives that reset the cost base, strengthened internal capability, and identified over £56m in annualised benefits in the first year.
Greene King, one of the UK’s largest pub retailers and brewers, had struggled to deliver sustained cost transformation despite several previous efficiency programmes. With margin pressures increasing across the hospitality sector, the Group’s owners set an ambitious target to deliver £40m of annual EBIT improvement between 2026 and 2030 – a cumulative £200m challenge. Grant Thornton was engaged to design and implement a group-wide Operational Efficiency Programme capable of resetting the cost base while protecting Greene King’s customer-first culture.
From the outset, we focused on establishing a long-term partnership that would enable Greene King to deliver change at pace while maintaining a client-first approach. Working as an embedded partner, we developed and mobilised Project Nova, a coordinated operational efficiency programme spanning the entire organisation.
The programme brought together cross-functional workstreams to analyse Greene King’s cost base, challenge long-standing assumptions about where efficiencies could be achieved, and identify both cost reduction and revenue generation opportunities. Hundreds of initiatives were identified and triaged through a structured programme framework, enabling leadership to prioritise opportunities with the greatest financial impact while safeguarding customer and colleague experience.
Our programme approach set a new benchmark for Greene King. Drawing on experience from similar transformation programmes, we helped Greene King to act with greater pace and precision while avoiding known blockers we’ve experienced on other engagements. Our teams focused on enhancing Greene King’s capabilities rather than replicating them, creating strong programme ownership across the organisation. Greene King leadership described the engagement as “truly a joint venture”.
The programme delivered significant results in its first year. Seventy-seven initiatives were approved and mobilised, generating annualised benefits of £56.4m and delivering an EBIT improvement of approximately 11.4%. Greene King received a return of £53.30 for every £1 spent with Grant Thornton, a staggering 5,233% ROI, reflecting our mutual investment in the programme’s aims.
In the client’s own words:
“From day one, the team immersed themselves in our culture, listened deeply, and helped shape an embryonic idea into a robust, enterprise-wide programme. Their professionalism and breadth of expertise were expected – but what truly set them apart was their partnership, consideration, and relentless ownership of our challenges. It never felt like working with an external consultancy; it felt like an extension of our own team. The relationship we’ve formed is the reason we continue to extend and grow our partnership. We’ve loved the honesty, the challenge, and the care. We’ve felt like we are in this together.”
– Richard Hatley, Efficiency & Innovation Director
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