There aren鈥檛 many managing directors who would take to the stage of their company鈥檚 annual conference wearing a classic green Adidas tracksuit with gold stripes on the arms and matching green trainers.
But, then again, William Lees-Jones is not your typical leader of a 拢100m turnover business.
He also wore a T-shirt with the JW Lees name emblazoned across the front and white tennis trousers.
All that was missing was a bucket hat and he wouldn鈥檛 have looked out of a place at one of the Oasis concerts at Heaton Park.
The Greatest Showman
Lees-Jones is The Manchester Maverick with a slice of The Greatest Showman thrown in.
鈥淢y kids are probably going to give me a really hard time about my Adidas tracksuit top,鈥� he admitted. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to say 鈥楧ad, you鈥檙e 60, you need to stop doing that鈥�.鈥�
One journalist once described Lees-Jones as 鈥榞roovy鈥� and while he鈥檚 happy to laugh at himself, he鈥檚 no-one鈥檚 fool.
He鈥檚 become a vocal critic of the Labour鈥檚 inheritance tax reforms, using his growing social media profile to call on the government to protect family-run businesses and the hospitality sector.
However, behind the green Adidas tracksuit and bonhomie, is a hard-nosed businessman 鈥� evidenced by their record-breaking results.
The brewer reported record sales of 拢99.9m for the year ended March 23, 2025, but has estimated that increases in employers鈥� National Insurance contributions and the impact of the National Living Wage rates will increase their cost base by 拢2m per year.
Lees-Jones is fundamentally a brilliant communicator, underlined by his performance on the stage at Manchester鈥檚 Albert Hall for the company鈥檚 2025 conference.
There was a Thunderbirds theme to last Friday’s conference 鈥� referenced by a slide saying 鈥楯W Lees are go鈥�.
The MD鈥檚 son Louis is the first of the seventh generation to join the near 198-year-old family firm, while his daughter Athena formed part of the 320-strong audience.
Family is clearly important to the father-of-four. 聽鈥淢y harshest critics are probably my kids,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a great expression that 鈥榳e don鈥檛 inherit the business from our parents, we borrow it from our children鈥�.鈥�
He used the stage to reveal the big news that JW Lees is going to distribute Boddington鈥檚 Cask Ale under license from Budweiser Brewing Group.
The Boddington deal was only signed at 11pm the previous night. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 beat a deadline,鈥� smiled Lees-Jones.
JW Lees might be nearly 200 years old but it鈥檚 a modern company, illustrated by their considerable investment in their annual conference.
William Lees-Jones, MD of JW Lees, takes centre stage
鈥淚 see part of my job to be disruptive,鈥� he explained. 鈥淭o say to everybody 鈥榶ou鈥檙e not working on a Friday鈥� is massively disruptive to the business but you have to work around it.
鈥淲hen you sit down with colleagues and say 鈥榳hat鈥檚 special about working at JW Lees?鈥� they go 鈥榳e love the brewery conferences鈥�.
鈥淲e see our roots as being deeply Manchester. We鈥檙e just having a big night out in Manchester with some business stuff at the beginning.鈥�
The audience was deliberately not exclusively made up of managers. It consisted of the company鈥檚 brewery staff 鈥� including the celebrated cleaners – and the general managers, assistant managers and head chefs from their portfolio of pubs.
Explaining his approach to leadership, Lees-Jones said: 鈥淓very time I walk into a pub I walk in with some empty glasses.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a criticism of the fact that those glasses are sitting on the tables outside, it鈥檚 probably that they鈥檝e been too busy to clear them. For me leadership is never being too big to do the most important tasks.
鈥淚f the leader of the council didn鈥檛 turn up for work for a month you probably wouldn鈥檛 notice but if the binmen don鈥檛 come for a week you start to notice.鈥�
If a business doesn’t make a profit, it doesn’t exist
Lees-Jones is unashamedly driven by making a profit – 鈥淚f a business doesn’t make a profit, it doesn’t exist,鈥� he explained – 聽but also making a positive difference.
During the conference a giant cheque for 拢21,688.10p was handed over to their chosen charity The Christie.
Lees-Jones might have the touch of the flamboyant about him but there was a real tender moment when he remembered his brother Simon, who died last year of cancer at the age of 58.
A slide appeared on the giant screen of a book Simon gave his sibling – 鈥�The Little Book of Management Bollocks鈥� by Alistair Beaton 鈥� and everyone laughed.
Lees-Jones has now clocked up a remarkable 22 years as managing director.
I first interviewed him at JW Lees & Co鈥檚 Greengate Brewery in Manchester in 2012.
Lees-Jones became a trainee account executive and ended up running an advertising agency in London before joining the family business at the age of 28.
He became joint managing director for two-and-a-half years before taking sole charge in 2003, overseeing a range of challenges including the 2007 smoking ban and Covid in 2020.
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JW Lees is already making plans for the firm鈥檚 200th anniversary celebrations in 2028 and it鈥檚 obvious Lees-Jones still loves what he does.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like anything, there鈥檚 a time when you have to give up,鈥� admitted the keen Manchester United fan. 鈥淵ou like a good football analogy and it鈥檚 sad that Eric Cantona and George Best gave up football when they were still in their prime.鈥�