David Devennie, General Manager, The Northern Counties Club

Dec 13 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

He calls himself the 'chief cook and bottle washer' - something he enjoys more than his brief stint as David Beckham's bag carrier - and sees himself as the custodian of a tradition that stretches back 181 years. Karen Dent meets David Devennie, the man charged with bringing the Northern Counties Club into the 21st Century.

DISCRETION is the watchword of the Northern Counties Club, which is hidden down a little lane near the Theatre Royal in the heart of Newcastle.

Even the heavy wooden door gives little hint of what lies beyond; indeed, an unassuming brass plaque proclaiming the building as the home of the private members’ club is a very recent innovation.

It’s one of the small changes made by David Devennie, the club’s first ever general manager, who was appointed in 2007 to bring a bit of modernity into an institution that has been part of the North East business community since 1829.

“Times weren’t so good for the club; we’d had a tough few years struggling a little bit financially, membership was declining a bit, and the committee had an extraordinary general meeting and felt they had to make some changes,” says the 38-year-old Scot.

“They commissioned someone to come in and write a management report and as a result of this report, my position was created.”

Three years ago, there was a real risk the club could have shut up shop for good.

“That was one of the options the committee had; it was either close the doors, sell off the building or make a change, take a gamble and create new position of general manager,” he said.

“That was the choice and they had to vote on it; thankfully, the vote went in my favour.”

Devennie, whose background is hotels – he spent a decade with the De Vere group – is aiming to bring the club into the modern era and is making his mark with initiatives such as wi-fi and ‘express’ lunches.

“We’ve got the stigma of being a ‘gentlemen’s club’ and trying to change that perception,” he says.

“About 20% of our members are female. We’re trying to make it much more approachable – not somewhere you should be absolutely terrified of entering.”

Women have been permitted to join since 1990 – which meant structural changes including splitting the toilets in two.

When Devennie arrived, member numbers hovered around the 300 mark and are now almost 500.

“We still have the traditional system where members are proposed by existing members,” says Devennie.

“But it’s not to say we’d throw someone out the door if they rang up out of the blue.

“I would invite them into the club, show them round, make some introductions and integrate them into it and let them see what it’s all about.”