Jeremy Mogford discusses updating Quod and 18 very successful years in business

After leaving University, I spent a year gaining invaluable management experience in London. My early ambition was to have my own restaurant and to this end I borrowed £2,500 from my parents. My university friend and eventual partner, John Mayhew, borrowed the same sum from his great aunt, with Nat West Bank adding £5,000.

For the princely sum of £10,000 we started the first Browns Restaurant in Brighton in 1973, expanded to Oxford in 1976 and later onto Cambridge. At the same time we acquired Rules Restaurant in Covent Garden and after restoring it to its former glory, John and I decided to go our separate ways with me taking on the three Browns restaurants and John retaining Rules, which he still owns to this day.

In 1998, Bass PLC purchased the whole Browns group and I retained Gees Restaurant and the Old Parsonage Hotel. When the opportunity to convert Barclays on Oxford’s famous High came up, I could not resist – the location was unrivalled, in the centre of historic Oxford and surrounded by the city’s most iconic buildings.

The Old Bank building had ‘hotel’ written all over it and the space provided the chance to create a very special restaurant, bar and outside terrace on the ground floor. The rest is history!

Since we originally opened in 1999, the last 18 years have been hugely successful, so, not surprisingly, the bar, kitchen, bedrooms and general infrastructure have all shown signs of wear and tear. We have taken the opportunity of not only refurbishing all those areas but have stood back and asked ourselves how to make the Old Bank and Quod better and stay ahead of the competition as the best hotel and restaurant, along with our sister hotel, the Old Parsonage.

The result of the six-week closure during January includes a brand new state of the art kitchen with a new curved bar and its stunning onyx in the middle of the restaurant, seating 25 guests to either dine or enjoy a cocktail; and a redesigned Italian garden terrace, which includes a lower terrace that can be hired for private events.

In the hotel, we have initiated a 12-month rolling programme to update all 42 bedrooms and bathrooms.

The reception has also been transformed, with a unique Siena marble-clad desk taking centre stage, it’s a real work of art.

Although I realise that I have access to extremely talented professionals, builders and management, I have enjoyed being intimately involved with all the decisions on design. It has been hugely rewarding to put all I have seen over the years into one very special and unique building.

I feel that the newly reincarnated Old Bank Hotel and Quod Restaurant & Bar has been a result of a lifetime of experience in the hospitality industry combined with all the interesting ideas I have seen, travelling all over the world. I am very fortunate indeed.

The realisation of my ambition at Quod, Old Bank Hotel and Old Parsonage, can only be fulfilled by having an amazing team of believers who man every department.

My strong, deeply held, conviction is that the ultimate success of a business is down to the commitment, professionalism and talent of every single person who works within it.