The BII has just announced that entries are now open for the 2022 BII Licensee of the Year Award (LOYA), sponsored by Sky.
The impact of the pandemic on the pub sector over the last 2 years has been devastating, but even when their venues were closed and their businesses were at their most fragile, the nations’ licensees showed resilience, positivity and above all care for their teams, customers and local communities.
The LOYA competition returns to celebrate and recognise the incredible people who run pubs at the heart of their communities.
The competition is open to members and non-members of the BII alike, whether they are managers, lessees, tenants or free traders, with entrants from all areas of the industry.
LOYA is renowned in the industry as the toughest competition of its kind, with a rigorous four month judging process, culminating in the crowning of the winner at the prestigious BII Summer Event on Tuesday 21 June 2022.
As well as becoming Licensee of the Year, the winner will receive a year's free Sky Sports Pubs and Clubs subscription for their venue and £500 towards a celebration with their whole team in their pub.
Licensees can either nominate themselves or be nominated by colleagues, customers or suppliers on the BII website here. Entrants must have been operating their business for a minimum of 2 years, hold a Personal Licence and have a food hygiene rating of 4 or 5 at their venue.
The 2021 winners, Chris & Jason Black from The Pityme Inn (pictured), are fantastic operators, demonstrating tenacity and innovation across all areas of their business.
Speaking about winning in 2021, Chris commented, “Winning is a massive achievement for us. This accolade is all the more important because it’s judged by industry experts and is recognition of our teams and our hard work.”
Steven Alton, CEO of the BII, said, “It was incredibly disappointing that the pandemic forced us to cancel the Licensee of the Year competition in 2020. The award came back with a bang in 2021 and I am delighted that we can now launch the awards in their usual place in the calendar for 2022.
“LOYA recognises the best of the best from our sector, with key industry experts and operators leading the judging to ensure the standard of finalists goes from strength to strength. Our focus for 2021 was on how licensees weathered the storm over the pandemic, as well as the positive impact they had on their teams and communities.
“In 2022, we are looking forward to once again welcoming the very best licensees to be put through their paces, recognising and celebrating not only the way they have dealt with the challenges that the pandemic brought, but also their plans for taking their businesses forward as they recover and rebuild for the future.”