Butcombe Group, Hall & Woodhouse, Drake & Morgan, Incipio Group and Urban Pubs & Bars all made it to the prestigious list.
The awards honour and celebrate the UK’s top employers highlighting the best workplaces across a range of industries including the hospitality sector.
Results for the awards are collated through team members completing surveys measuring a range of criteria including employee experience, job satisfaction, and wellbeing.
Zoe Thomas, editor of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work, said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list is the UK’s biggest survey of employee engagement, compiled in partnership with workplace expert Work.
Happy employees
“Spanning a raft of sectors and located throughout the UK, the organisations in this year’s list range from innovative start-ups with a handful of employees to big multinational corporations staffed by thousands.
“These organisations know that happy employees are the superpower helping them thrive.”
Butcombe Group, formerly named Liberation, was recognised in the Big Company category.
Cat Moseley, Butcombe Group people director, said: “At Butcombe, we’ve always known that great beer and food, and fantastic pubs start with brilliant people. This award reflects the passion and commitment of our entire team, and our continued efforts to create a supportive and positive culture. It’s fantastic to see their hard work acknowledged.”
She added: “By staying closely connected with our teams and listening to their feedback, we’ve been able to make meaningful improvements across the business that help us build our culture and to recognise and reward our brilliant teams. “
Hall & Woodhouse was also recognised in the ‘big companies’ list. 2025 marks the second consecutive year that the family-owned brewer has received this national recognition.
Foundations
Dean Livesey, director of Great Place to Work at Hall & Woodhouse, said: “We are thrilled to feature on The Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for the second year running. Being a values-led business, our team is central to everything we do. This award confirms our team feel valued and a part of the Hall & Woodhouse family, something we continuously strive for.
“We have built on the foundations we laid out in the previous year to become an even better employer, and I’m delighted to have achieved this goal. It is imperative to us as a business that Hall & Woodhouse remains a great place to work for generations to come.”
There were a number of companies from the wider hospitality sector that made it to the list including Cote Restaurants, Hollywood Bowl Group, Moto Hospitality, Wagamama, Bella Italia, Dakota Hotels, Flat Iron, Gaucho & M Restaurants, Savoy Hotel, Slim Chickens and Longbow Venues.
