What makes a Great British Pub?

16-Sep-2015 - Last updated on 17-Sep-2015 at 08:43 GMT

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The UK pub sector is, without a doubt, a diverse and exciting sector — pubs and bars come in a wide range of flavours, but there’s no getting away from the fact it’s a dynamic and fast-moving business for those at the top of the game.

And you don’t have to look further than the Great British Pub Awards if you’re looking for the kind of pubs to represent the best in the business.

We saw some of the best businesses in the UK head to London last week, all determined to come home with the trophy. The agony of those that so narrowly missed out was tempered by the ecstasy of those that triumphed — but every operator there on the night can hold their head up high as one of the best in the country.

This is a competition that is our absolute privilege to organise and host — it’s a great honour to be able to celebrate everything that is good about the pub sector, and highlight some of the absolutely amazing operators that there are out there.

This year has been no exception — all of the finalists and winners were stunning operators. Hats off to all of them. Throughout the judging process, our arbiters were confronted with amazing pubs and it was a hugely difficult challenge to select our ultimate winners.

Running a pub is a full-time, hands-on job which involves a broad mix of skills and abilities, from people management to customer service, and financial nouse to marketing genius. The truly great licensees, like all of those at the awards, deliver across all those areas.

So what makes a Great British Pub Award winner?

It’s safe to say that if you make it to the final, you’re doing something special, regardless of where you finish on the night, but it’s an elusive mix that marks the best from the rest. It goes without saying that excellence runs across the board, but if there’s one thing that marks out our winners, they all have one quality in common — passion.

They are massively passionate about what they do, whether that’s running the best community pub in the country or running the hottest, trendiest cocktail bar — it’s done with love and dedication, and ambition to drive the business that little bit further.

There are some huge challenges that face this sector, but it’s extremely encouraging to see there are businesses out there that are not just embracing those challenges, but going above and beyond to really set the standards for us all to aim towards. We can get bogged down in focusing on those challenges, so it’s nice to be able to take a step back and celebrate the great stuff that this sector is delivering.

These aren’t just pub awards, they’re business awards. All of our finalists and winners are running amazing little, or not so little, businesses that make this sector so much fun to be involved with. They help to inspire me, and my team, and we’re honoured to be given the opportunity to salute you.

So, once again, well done and keep up that excellent work.