Sarah Murdock and Simon Bailey owners of the 300 year old Kings Arms Hotel have scooped yet another top industry award by being chosen as ‘Best Newcomer’ by Dorset based brewery Hall & Woodhouse. The brewery has over 250 pubs throughout the south and south east. Last year the couple were voted ‘Best Newcomers’ in the South East in The Great British Pub Awards organised by the brewing industry’s prestigious publication, ‘The Morning Advertiser’.

At the award ceremony Matt Kearsey, Tenanted Division Director of Hall & Woodhouse said “It’s important that we recognise our business partners for their success, especially through these challenging times. Sarah and Simon have transformed The Kings Arms over these 18 months and they are deserving winners in the Best Newcomers category in recognition of all their hard work. I am proud of their achievements as they represent what’s best about Hall & Woodhouse.”

Sarah and Simon took over the tenancy of The Kings Arms at Lion Gate, Hampton Court in August 2008. At that time the hotel and pub had been through a difficult patch with falling sales and low room occupancy. Former surveyor Simon and Sarah, who has had a career helping people with learning disabilities, set about tidying and cleaning up The Kings Arms. They wanted to re-create a real pub atmosphere, with friendly staff, high levels of customer service with good food and accommodation.

The quality of the fantastic range of ales from Hall & Woodhouse, such as Badger, Tanglefoot and Sussex has brought in local drinkers, leading to an increase in beer sales of 35%. Similar strides have been made to improve the food offering. Sourcing ingredients from local farms and suppliers their menu is made up of freshly prepared traditional pub dishes and a fantastic selection of sharing platters. Since taking over 18 months ago, the duo has doubled food sales and significantly increased the room occupancy of the nine themed bedrooms. Sarah remarked, “We have had a lot of great feedback from customers and are really proud to have won these two top awards.”