Philip began his career as a contemporary art dealer, based in London. In 2009 he and his wife Susie took over the running of Iscoyd Park, situated in North Wales close to the Welsh / Shropshire border. The house needed major ‘root and branch’ restoration and together they have developed it into an award-winning wedding and events venue. Up to March 2020 what was a thriving business, has helped to fund a fairly constant building program and to provide the house with a reliable income.
The original restoration of the house spanned eight years, with the building work continuing with the development of the outbuildings. Phil and Susie live in the house; day-to-day juggling bringing up their three children, managing 20 full-time staff and a team of builders. They hold around 110 weddings and 50 other events a year.
In 2018 Iscoyd brought their catering in-house and now run a team of four chefs. They have expanded the business to put on regular supper clubs, Sunday lunches, restaurant nights, and afternoon teas. There are plans to develop the walled gardens and to use the produce in the menus. Guests can also stay overnight, with 20 bedrooms within the house and two neighbouring cottages.
Alongside rejuvenating Iscoyd, Phil has been working with tech guru Emma Hardcastle and four other venues to design and develop “Hostology” a venue management platform -
www.hostology.co.uk. Hostology takes a collaborative approach, enabling the venue to share the planning (itineraries, menus, supplier, and guest management) with customers, their customers' suppliers, and guests. Ultimately, the aim of Hostology is to free up the team to spend more time with the customer, and on developing Iscoyd Park’s core business.
During the pandemic Philip has been involved with lobbying the Welsh Government, working with the Hostology team to deliver webinars to help venues navigate their way through, working with the WVSG, ABWB and is involved with the UK Wedding Task Force to try and obtain support four industry and get it reopened as soon as possible.