Multi-sites prove pubs are alive and kicking

We run three full-day conferences and an awards programme to recognise their achievements. The awards took place last week and they’re a celebration of top-notch retail standards. Anyone who thinks there’s little innovation within the sector should visit the venues run by our finalists.

Whiting & Hammond, founded by former Brunning & Price director Brian Whiting, won the award for Best Food Offer. Visit the Cricketers, in Meopham, Kent, to check out how high quality food can be integrated brilliantly in a pubby environment.

Pleisure, the Brighton-based multiple run by Nick Griffin, took the top honour in the Best Drinks category thanks to an individuated spirits offer that makes each site that little bit different. It’s worth calling on any of Pleisure’s venues in Brighton to have a look at how you can make a pub stand out from the crowd.

Amber Taverns, led by veterans James Baer and Bryan Wardman, won the Most Impressive Growth category by showing there’s profit in the unfashionable community pubs sector for investors. The company also trades in the unfashionable suburbs of the north-west, rescuing pubs previously thought to be broken.

Bulldog Hotel Group, the company run by my brother Kevin Charity (I stayed well away from all judging) won the Best Accommodation Offer category. His firm combines high-quality, value-priced bedrooms with a thoroughly pub offer, such as at its White Hart Royal in Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds.

Sports Bar & Grill, the London-based company founded by David Evans, won recognition in the Best Newcomer category. It brilliantly recasts the classic sports bar offer by adding great design and food — check out its Victoria train station site.

TLC Inns, founded by Steve Haslam and Jo Drain, snatched the award for Best New Site. Its Henny Swan, near Sudbury, Suffolk, is a pubco disposal that just happens to occupy a stunning riverside location — and has been transformed performance-wise thanks to investment.

Stonegate Pub Company took the Best Training Scheme gong after impressing our judges with a root-and-branch re-invention of its training, masterminded by Lee Woolley and CPL Training, to ensure it had the right answers for a staff of 10,000 who were essentially making a fresh start in a new company.

The Best Design award was picked up by West Country operator Loungers. Its sites effortlessly meld aspects of café, pub and restaurant to create a comfortable environment for a broad demographic — its newest site in Stamford, Lincolnshire, a Cosy Club opening, is stunning.

Tim Sykes, chairman of Beds and Bars and ex-chairman of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, picked up the award for Best Individual thanks to his outstanding leadership of the trade body in the past three years.

It was one of those days that’s a delight — reports of the pub trade’s death are greatly exaggerated.