BII Licensee of the Year 2019 competition launched

14-Jan-2019 - Last updated on 14-Jan-2019 at 09:50 GMT

Feeling lucky? the BII Licensee of the Year 2019 competition is now open for nominations

The British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) has launched its annual Licensee of the Year competition, which seeks to identify and salute Britain’s best operator.

“The British Institute of Innkeeping is celebrating all that is good about the licensed retail sector and can’t wait to recognise the top individual licensees operating in the industry in 2019,” said the organisation.

Managers, lessees, tenants and free traders are all able to enter the awards, which last year attracted more than 200 entrants from across the country.

BII claims the competition is the toughest of its kind, with a rigorous four-month judging process, culminating in a big winner’s reveal at the BII Summer Event on 4 June this year.

Free Sky Sports

Along with Licensee of the Year, the winner will also receive a free Sky Sports Pubs and Clubs subscription for their venue.

Last year’s winners, Alex and Tanya Williams, from the Polgooth in St Austell, impressed judges with their pub’s community spirit, kitchen garden and its support for staff and training.

Of the win last year, the duo said: “The reality hits and you realise it is the biggest competition for licensees. It was such a build-up and as naïve as this sounds, it was only half way through the lunch it dawned on us quite how big it was.”

BII CEO Mike Clist said: “The BII Licensee of the Year Award has always had a way of finding the industry’s brightest stars and we are sure that 2019 will be no different.

Licensed hospitality business

“The winner this year will need to be a licensee who excels in all aspects of running a licensed hospitality business and be an ambassador for our fantastic industry.”

Sky Business managing director David Rey said: “The BII Licensee of the Year award is a fantastic recognition of the dedication and professionalism that is shown by so many licensees in the industry.

“We are very proud to sponsor the competition again this year and I am looking forward to seeing the innovation and hard work that people have been putting into their businesses in 2019.”

Nominations opened on 14 January and will close on 28 February. Details of how to enter can be found on www.bii.org.