The BII has announced the six finalists for its Licensee of the Year competition 2017.

The Licensee of the Year competition, sponsored by Sky, is now in its final stage. Over the past three weeks, the judges have visited the pubs of all sixteen semi-finalists spread across the whole of the UK, assessing standards from car parks and outside areas right through to cellars and kitchens as well as trading areas. They also completed in depth interviews with the entrants covering all aspects of the business, the commitment to staff and their own personal development.

In no particular order the six finalists are:

• Mark Higgs The Castle At Edgehill, Banbury, Oxfordshire
• Clive Price The Bletchingley Arms, Bletchingley, Surrey
• Chantelle Tupman-John The Waggon Inn, Uppermill, Greater Manchester
• Tim Tomlinson Merchants 1688, Lancaster, Lancashire
• Jennifer Kuhn The Windsor Fenchurch, London
• Mark Thornhill The Kings Head, Hursley, Hampshire

Mike Clist, CEO of the BII said “Congratulations to all of the finalists. The BII Licensee of the Year competition is renowned for being the most rigorous of all the awards in licensed retailing and is the one individual operator’s really want to win. As well as high numbers again this year, the standard of entrants has been the highest we’ve seen yet, which gave the judges a tough challenge narrowing it down from sixteen great operators to just six. I wish them well in the final stage.”

The group now face their toughest challenge so far. On the 12th of June they will face a series of 3 judging panels and be grilled on Business Development, People & Training and Financial Awareness. The overall winner will be decided and announced at the BII annual Summer Event the next day, on the 13th of June attended by almost 900 of the great and good of the licensed trade in the U.K.