JD Wetherspoon Uses Lloyds for Cash Clearing Service
JD Wetherspoon, the national pub chain, has appointed Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets (Lloyds) to provide sterling and multi-currency cash clearing services. JD Wetherspoon, which has a turnover of over £1bn, is expected to make savings in excess of £1m over the five-year contract.
With around 830 pubs throughout the UK, and long-term ambitions to double in size, JD Wetherspoon has signed up to Lloyds’ Premier Direct Cash Processing Service, which is operated in conjunction with G4S. The bank, which has a long standing relationship with JD Wetherspoon, was appointed as a result of its innovative and holistic approach following a competitive tender process.
Lloyds’ Premier Direct service has been tailored to meet JD Wetherspoon’s specialist needs with regards to the collection of foreign currency, which it frequently receives through its airport-based pubs. The bank is now planning a wider roll-out of the bespoke sterling and currency solution that it is providing in conjunction with Travelex.
Kirk Davis, finance director at JD Wetherspoon, said: “Not only did Lloyds share our own focus on offering quality, value and service, we also felt confident in the team’s ability to meet both our current and future needs as we continue to expand. When making changes to a business critical service, such as this, it is vital that you have faith and trust in the ability of the team to deliver, and we felt reassured by the experience and expertise of Lloyds’ people.
“Having trialled the new service in Coventry and Birmingham, we had every confidence in moving quickly to a nationwide roll-out and the transition has proved seamless. Since moving to Lloyds’ Premier Direct service, we have only received positive feedback from our pub managers, who are handling around £31,000 each, every week. As an added benefit, our daily reporting has been improved by the detailed information provided by the Lloyds’ banking platform, and this should only be enhanced as a result of Lloyds’ planned future investment,” he added.