Episode 1 The Farm Fixer

-Small family farms are in trouble.

-This hasn't seen any action for a while, has it?

Business consultant Nick Hewer is going back

to his Northern Irish roots to help them diversify

and make radical changes before they go under.

What can you do with 17 acres?

But are the farmers ready for his advice?

I'm not a farming guru with all the answers,

but having observed many companies over more than 40 years,

what I can offer is a great big dollop of common sense.

This series follows eight local farms

embarking on a long-term fight for survival.

-You're not turning bookings down, are you?

-There will be tough decisions...

That source will pump forever and a day.

And they're going to sell it?

..but doing nothing is not an option.

End of a long day. And, for me, a depressing day.

The Harrisons have a 90-acre farm

on the Ards Peninsula near Greyabbey in County Down.

On the shores of Strangford Lough,

it's a spectacular location, but the farm is failing.

Potato prices are falling

and their plant nursery business is facing increasing competition.

Drastic action is needed if the farm is going to survive.

Going back to my grandfather's day, this farm kept going three families,

then in my father's day it kept to families going

and at the present time, it probably couldn't keep one family going.

I've two sons who are very interested in farming.

We've got to look at something to secure their future.

Despite their remote location, the Harrisons have an ambitious plan.

Using a mixture of savings, loans and grants,

they want to invest half a million pounds

and build a farm retail complex with an 80-seat restaurant attached.

They're risking everything.

Nick Hewer has been called in to help.

The Harrisons are about to press the button on a massive investment

and I want to make sure they know and understand all the possible permutations.

I've come here to make them think.

-How are you?

-Welcome, Nick.

-Thank you.

-This is my wife, Helen.

Hello, Nick. Lovely to meet you.

Nick will be working closely with the Harrisons.

-Today he's joined by his dog, Jasmine.

-And the shop is where?

-The shop is going to be here in the old barn.

-OK.

They have eight months to try and save the farm.

Tell me why you think there's a demand for this restaurant.

Well, David can answer that probably better than I.

Because we've listened to our customers who come in

and the first thing they say is, "Isn't that a lovely view?

"It would be nice to have a cup of coffee."

There's nobody else has the view that we have.

Yeah, a view's great, but do you know something?

Do you know what drives people in is the wonderful quality of the produce,

but also the fact that you're in the right location for it.

You can put up the best hotel in the world

and stick it in the Sahara, no-one would get there.

The restaurant might have unspoiled views over Strangford Lough,

but the local population is sparse.

-And there's another worry.

-Who's running this restaurant?

-Who knows how to...?

-That's down to Helen.

She's the one who has the experience.

I haven't exactly experience with working in a restaurant.

Where I work at the moment is a visitor attraction

and they have a restaurant,

so I have experience of working WITH a restaurant.

I haven't experience, definitely, of managing a restaurant

and that's what we have to learn.

The Harrisons have no real restaurant experience

and there's only a small local population.

But they are financially committed.

The nursery is already being moved to make way for the new building.

Our move into this new area was just finished last week.

Although the Ards Peninsula is remote,

it is a popular weekend tourist attraction.

The Harrisons should have the potential to capture this market.

When do people visit nurseries?

Mainly weekends, Saturdays and Sundays.

Not here they don't, and that's a worry.

Before we became Christians, we did open our nursery on a Sunday,

but since we both have been saved and become Christians,

we made that commitment and we haven't looked back.

It's not negotiable - Sunday, it's going to be closed. End of story.

The restaurant is just part of the grand scheme.

At the back there are plans for a retail centre

with crafts, a butcher's and a farm shop.

That doorway is going to be the entrance into our craft shops

in the courtyard area, so we thought this square back here

would make a lovely butcher's department or something.

That'll be an important element, I guess.

-And then we hope...

-Have you got experience in butchery?

-We've no experience at all, but we...

-Hmm.

So butchery is a bit of a problem and, with respect to you,

restaurants aren't your main interest in life and neither's retail.

-No. We've got a bit of a challenge ahead of us.

-Mm.

The Harrisons have decided to invest upwards of half a million pounds

into areas about which they know nothing.

Retailing in a farm shop, a restaurant - excuse me?

'I've always been told stick to your knitting.'

They're leaving their knitting and it's a dangerous place to go.

There's a huge task ahead so to help them come up with a plan,

Nick's decided to check out the competition

and see how successful they are.

I love this - parsnips, look. Covered in the soil of Ulster,

dragged unwillingly from the fields of Ulster.

What could be fresher than that?

Situated on the outskirts of Belfast, Linda

and Colin McKee began with a small farm shop 13 years ago.

Today, the business has expanded.

They now have a 130-seat restaurant.

Do you know something? I think there are probably 60 people here.

It's not as though we're in the centre of the city, you know.

If we could replicate even half of this it would be a wonderful thing to do.

How important is location?

We have a very good location. Location would be key.

In a ten-mile radius, we have a lot of customers

and the type of customers we want into this shop.

And you started with - what? The shop?

We started in a very small barn selling fruit and vegetables.

Then we started into the beef in a small way.

We got a butcher and killed our first animal

and let it hang for three weeks and just very gradually build it up.

You know, the customers come into the farmyard here

and we have a nice view over Scrabo Tower. People said, you know,

"Pity we couldn't get a cup of tea or a cup of coffee."

We always felt if we could get a restaurant or a coffee shop going

that it would be a good draw to the business.

I feel heartened. I had real, real doubts

about the possibility of Greyabbey's success,

but having seen this... Given drive and good marketing

and quality, it's possible.

Greyabbey can do it. With a fair wind behind them.

Encouraged by his research, Nick has come up with a plan.

The McKees grew their business slowly.

Nick's wondering if the Harrisons could do the same.

He's decided to tackle the Harrisons' architect, Hadleigh Jess.

If they started with just a retail unit,

it would really help with cash flow.

Is there anyway that we could maybe, you know,

not build the restaurant right now?

The building is here to hide some of the ugly farming buildings.

Trying to build it in stages

I don't think will work for the success of the overall project.

OK, OK.

In a nutshell, the actual framework of the building has got to go up.

-Yeah, yeah. It's all got to go up in one go.

-OK.

It looks like the Harrisons are committed to building everything at once.

But Nick has another idea that he wants to put to the family.

I don't want you sitting in an empty restaurant worrying.

You know, you've got the bank - they'll lend the money,

-but, when it starts raining...

-That's what scares me.

The thought of the bank coming and taking the thing.

That's an thinkable. You can't even take that risk.

-That would be the worst scenario.

-And here's my suggestion.

Why don't we, in a sense, franchise it.

Bring in operators on a short-term, maybe five-year, lease, all right?

That five years will do two things for you -

it'll enable you to wash your face with the bank and make a profit

because you'll be a landlord, all right?

But also you can stand back and you can observe and you can learn,

see what they're doing and then you gently take that over

when the time comes.

And what would your job be in the meantime?

I'll tell you what it'll be - you're going to be out there marketing like crazy.

The one thing I do worry about is I lose control of something,

which, you know, if I'm going to do all this and it is a success,

you know, am I giving that away to somebody else?

I may only be getting half the pie there,

where as I'm a quite greedy boy and I'd like all the pie.

-Of course, you know what your problem is.

-Yes?

-And it's common with all farmers - you've never had a boss.

-That's it.

And you get spoiled. Sometimes, needs must.

Sometimes you've got to be in a relationship -

a business relationship - where you've got an equal partner

who can tell you to mind your own business.

-You know, needs must sometimes.

-Yeah.

-You don't open on Sundays.

-Yes.

That's fine, that's your affair.

Would that restraint apply to tenants?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-It would?

-Yes.

-Because that...

That's going to make life difficult getting a tenant in,

saying you can't work on Sundays.

The franchise model offers expertise and regular income from rent,

but telling them to hand over the reins at this stage is a big ask.

And that's not the only decision Nick wants the Harrisons to make.

You've got the wonderful landmark, the mill.

Why couldn't it be The Mill at Greyabbey,

which can be seen from miles around, and rebrand it.

Get out there and really spread the message for the people that will be here.

Over the next few weeks the Harrisons have been left

with a lot to think about, but David is certain of one thing.

Family ties, family names are very important.

Everybody wants to come in here and they'll want to know

that David Harrison or Helen Harrison owns this here

and they'll want to be able to talk to David Harrison

or Helen Harrison, the owner of it.

They don't want The Mill of Greyabbey - who owns that or what's that?

They want that link to the person that owns it.

Everybody here knows everybody

and that's just it - it's a family tie thing.

Nick's branding idea, The Mill at Greyabbey, has been rejected.

The family name will live on.

After years of planning,

work on the restaurant and retail unit is finally under way.

For the Harrisons, it's a big day.

I am definitely excited. There's no question,

this has been a long time coming.

I thought we might be emotional

seeing all that coming down today, but amazingly no.

No nerves, just roll on until we get it finished.

It's been two months since Nick presented his plan.

After much discussion, the Harrisons have decided against tenants

although they are considering sub-letting the butcher's.

They've also agreed to get finished by Easter,

which gives them less than six months.

Nick's still worried about their lack of retail experience

so he's devised a test.

Well, you will remember that I was worried about your retail experience

so let's have a challenge to see if you've got that retailing nous.

It's so important. I've arranged a market stall

and a budget for you of £250

and you're going to stock it and you're going to market it

and it will be a sort of one-day exercise.

Just to, sort of, test yourself in the retail environment.

-How would that be?

-That sounds very good, Nick.

We can do it. We will do it.

Nick's back to look around the site.

He is being shown around by David and Helen's youngest son, Andrew.

Mum and Dad are busy getting ready for Nick's retail challenge.

And now, Nick, this is the walkway heading to the farm shop.

Through there will be a craft area here

before you reach the farm shop, then in.

-And this is the old barn?

-Yeah, this here's the old barn.

-That will be the butcher.

-And that's the main door into the farm shop?

-This is the main door, yes.

-Gosh, it's all changed.

-All this in four weeks?

-Yes.

-That's impressive, isn't it?

-You're driving them hard, Andrew.

-We have to.

-Squeeze every penny out of them.

-Yes, I'm sure you will.

I'm beginning to see the, sort of, the sense of it.

The business sense is eluding me for the minute,

but anyway, I can see what a great position it is.

Listen, I can't stay here gassing with you all day.

-I've got to go and see what your parents are up to.

-No bother, Nick.

-Thank you.

-Good man.

-Thank you.

-Next Easter?

-Yes.

-Promise?

-Promise.

In Newtonards, the weekly farmers' market is under way.

The challenge today is to turn £250 into profit.

It's a chance to test the Harrisons' retail skills.

But David is not happy.

Our challenge certainly was not a good one, no.

Cos I can't see any benefit in it for us here.

We have been selling for 20 years to the public

so why waste time doing this challenge here today

when we've done something better?

Fresh from his site visit, Nick has arrived to explain himself.

The challenge was really to examine a number of things.

It was about product selection and pricing,

but also just introducing your new enterprise to the nearest town.

This is your market. At the end of the day,

we'll see how much profit you've made on that 250-quid investment.

That's what I look forward to, yes.

As well as selling seasonal products from the nursery,

today's stall has been stocked with chutney, jams and cakes.

A potential coffee supplier is also here.

It's a portable prototype for next year

and Nick was hoping for a clearer signage.

Everybody else seems to have a branding.

I thought we were going to have a fascia on the outside.

The reason we don't have that, Nick, is because

whenever we started the new build, all our banners were burnt.

OK, so where is there a Harrison's anywhere? Just here?

Well, we start off and we give these bags.

We're giving them a gift - a packet of daffodils -

so when they take the daffodil home and plant it the reminder is

when the daffodil shoots up and blooms,

that will be when we plan to open our restaurant and farm shop.

-Who's idea was this?

-That was David's idea, I have to say.

-Good idea.

-It's lovely.

So if you plant those daffodil bulbs,

when they bloom that's when we will be in business.

Although the daffodils are going fast,

a busy few hours has barely left a dent in the cupcakes or fudge.

Nick is getting worried.

Helen, do you remember? 2.30, yeah? You've got a lot of perishables here

so really, under the terms of the challenge,

you've got to get rid of them because at the end of today

-they're no good to anybody.

-That's OK.

So you're going to have to think about pricing.

OK. That's all right.

OK, folks. Special offer here - a pound.

They are reduced to less than half the OK?

I'll give you two packets for a pound. That's a really good deal.

Hello, would you be interested in some half-price cupcakes. No? OK.

I'm usually quite shy person but I knew that last ten minutes

I could not be shy and nervous. I had to go out there.

£10? Good deal. £10. You enjoy. Thank you very much.

-Thank you so, so much.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye-bye.

-Merry Christmas.

That pound to me is the most important pound of today

because I can't believe that we are absolutely clear here.

I'm delighted. Absolutely delighted.

250 to start with and what have you taken?

-793.

-Wow!

-793, and that was just in the morning selling.

400, 500 and something. 540.

You're a natural saleswoman.

Well, I wouldn't have guessed that. If you had said that to me...

You are. I'll tell you another thing. There's a market here, isn't there?

-That's right.

-Branding.

-I'm happy to do that.

-That's our next task.

Branding next. That's good. Thank you, Nick.

The pre-Easter deadline is now just over three months away.

The race is on to get the roof up by Christmas.

With building going well, the next hurdle is fitting out the restaurant and shop

and the half million pound total budget

is becoming severely stretched.

Well, the budget for 300 for doing the actual building work

probably is OK. The shocks that have actually come into it

is kitting out the whole thing. That has come into a very big shock.

Where we started off maybe three years ago thinking about a budget

until today, we're definitely three or four times that budget.

We know we have to have the product right to sell to people

so we just have to spend the money to get it right.

And hopefully we're going to get it right.

Hopefully the money will come back in again.

The size of their investment is growing daily.

Although Nick's found it hard to get David and Helen

to take his advice, he's determined to help with marketing.

His first step is to get designer Alistair MacFarlane

to work on a logo.

With such a remote location,

creating a strong brand image is essential.

We want this personal feel that we're not a big company as such.

Yeah. But I do like the handwriting. I think that's a personal touch.

How good's your handwriting?

That's it.

That's it!

Nick's still not sure about keeping the family name

so he's decided to resort to some undercover market research.

I've been working with the Harrisons

on the branding of Harrison's at Greyabbey

but I'm not satisfied that that actually is that compelling

and so we've come up with another one - The Mill At Greyabbey.

At this very minute my team is out testing

the people of Newtonards to see which one they prefer.

-I prefer The Mill.

-I think it must be Harrisons.

Nick has had both names mocked up by Alistair.

The question now is which one will prove to be the most popular.

-The Mill.

-The Mill At Greyabbey.

-This one. The Mill.

I would go for the Harrisons.

Nick knows he has a battle on his hands

convincing the Harrisons to do anything.

The Mill, definitely.

But he's really hoping that he'll be proved right and The Mill wins.

-The Mill.

-This one?

When we met at the market, you remember,

we discussed the importance now of getting the branding together

and this is where we got to at the moment.

And what we've done here is colour coded the bottom.

We've got farm shop, nursery, restaurant -

three legs of the business.

-When you turned it around I was pleasantly surprised.

-Good, OK.

But I've been a bit underhand, maybe even,

and worked quietly away in the background, unknown to you.

And I've come up with another design, which you may feel...

It's not absolutely what you had in mind

and it's The Mill at Greyabbey,

again using the farm shop, nursery and restaurant.

The Mill at Greyabbey, and interestingly,

in our little survey of 50 people,

this one out-gunned your Harrisons by 44 to 6.

In other words, only six people preferred that one to that one.

So that may be not really what you wanted to hear.

Where does that leave you, David? Feeling cold, I think.

-No, not necessarily, no.

-Not necessarily.

-OK.

We've got to appeal to everybody.

I still maintain people do not know where the mill at Greyabbey is.

If we go Mill at Greyabbey,

we're going to have to remarket that there, Harrisons,

who we'd built up a reputation for the last 20 years,

is completely annihilated in that there,

so we're starting a new business.

Let me show you something.

And that is...

We've kept in the Harrisons but we've got at The Mill in Greyabbey.

Just so there is a, sort of, a visual connector there.

People say, "Oh, yeah - I know where that is."

Does that take some of the steam out of your argument?

-Not really, no.

-You've got your name in there.

-Got my name in there, yes.

And we've got The Mill, which is the visual...

-But we're not really at the mill, are we?

-No, but it's the focus.

It is on the horizon. It actually locates you on that coast.

Once again, it's stalemate.

We'll definitely take on board the research that's been done,

that's for sure, but at this moment in time

the two of us would think it's still Harrisons of Greyabbey

David and Helen will continue to trade as the Harrisons of Greyabbey.

The only comfort for Nick is they will use the new branding.

It's March.

Over the last few months, building work has been completed.

Remarkably, the budget is holding up.

The builder actually saved us a wee bit of money on some of the things he did

which took away from the free access we got.

The actual building work here and everything should come in

at the half million pounds, what we had anticipated all along.

Work has now begun on fitting the building out

and making the site clean.

There is now just a week until their opening launch.

Every morning I'm awake now by three.

Four o'clock or five at the very latest we're up.

-The phone is just a ringing constantly.

-It is awful.

It just kicks off one after the other

and you get a wee break again and then it kicks off again.

At this moment we haven't got a kitchen in,

we haven't got toilets and we haven't got this tiled,

we haven't got pots, pans, crockery...

It's a bit nerve-wracking to think just how much has to be done.

It's the day of the launch.

After eight months of talking,

it's the first time Nick will see the finished product.

Well, today is a big day.

I'm on my way to Harrisons of Greyabbey -

not The Mill at Greyabbey. That got shot down.

It's a hell of a gamble they've got on here today.

The culmination of a dream, I guess.

But a big, take gamble. If it works - and I pray it does -

then the family is set for generations to come.

If it doesn't, they'll lose the farm.

Nick's push to open by Easter has been achieved.

Not only that, but there is another part of the plan

where Nick and David have seen eye to eye.

The butcher, Noel Angus, already runs a shop in Greyabbey.

In effect, he is a tenant.

So the deal is then that whatever you sell,

David gets a percentage of it by way of rent.

The more you trade, the more rent he gets.

-So you may well be able to drive his whole farm shop side.

-True, yeah.

Getting in experts was part of Nick's original business plan.

He's hoping that David would still consider the idea

for other areas of the is business.

You brought a butcher in because butchery is not...

-It's a skill, and you don't have it.

-It's a skill.

But you could then move that as we sort of talked about in the past,

you know, if the gift shop area doesn't work as well as you had hoped.

-You could replicate that.

-No.

-No?

-No, definitely not. No, definitely not.

Because we can do this ourselves

and we are going to keep control of the whole business from here on in.

All right, OK. Well, I just thought it might be worth thinking about.

Once again, David is determined to do it his way.

-But there is at least one person who is pleased to see Nick.

-Helen?

-Oh, my goodness!

-How are you?

-Hello, Nick.

-What a business!

-Can you believe it?

-Barely, barely. Am I dreaming?

-I think you're dreaming,

-I think I'm dreaming as well.

-Isn't it fantastic?

-You really have... This has gone up so fast.

-I know.

Now what we've got to do - or what you've got to do -

is make sure all the seats are full.

Perfect.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

-Can I get a kiss?

-You get a big hug.

THEY PLAY FOLK MUSIC

Go, go, go!

As well as press, schools and local politicians,

it is estimated there are more than 1,500 visitors today.

Tables have had to be moved from the veranda.

At 120 covers, the restaurant is at full capacity.

It's also been a good day at the farm shop and butcher's.

The Harrisons' farm has begun its new era in style.

I could understand where Nick was coming from.

You know, if I was him coming in and meeting us

for the first time with no experience,

what businessman wouldn't wonder, "Are you doing the right thing?"

I think that - certainly for David,

there's no doubt about it - gave David a challenge to think,

"Oh, I am going to prove Nick wrong."

I can't see where Nick has helped in the process.

He went on about that mill. What a waste of time.

I hate boys wasting my time. I think Nick broke more than he fixed.

Right in the beginning, you know, I was sort of a prophet of doom,

I was Job and I said, "I'm so worried,

"I don't want you risking the whole farm," and all the rest of it,

-"The future of the boys."

-We had to hear that

-and we had to think about it.

-But I tell you what, you know.

If you can, sort of, channel the energy and skill

and organisational ability and all those other things

that you've shown in getting this thing to this stage,

you know, then frankly, you know, I want to eat my words

because I think you've performed incredibly well.

I've had my run-ins with David and Helen over the name of the place,

Sunday opening, sub-letting,

but the confidence they've shown

in running the restaurant and the shop has surprised me.

But one thing's for sure - they've laid out half a million pounds

and if the farm is to be saved - that's a big investment -

then the real hard work has got to begin today.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd