Publican Awards 2016: The Shortlist

Taking place on 15 March 2016 at Evolution in Battersea, London, these celebratory awards saw unprecedented record entries into the first round of judging and the finalists have now been selected.

Ed Bedington, editor of the Publican's Morning Advertiser, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with the response to the competition this year. The fact it’s celebrating 25 years of recognising industry excellence has seen companies from across the pub world get on board and we’re delighted to have smashed records with our entries.

The Publican's Morning Advertiser preliminary judging process

“Of course, the sheer volume of superb companies coming into the competition means that its been a hugely difficult job for the judges to whittle down the field to our current shortlist.

“Commiserations to those who didn’t get through, as the awards have been incredibly competitive so it’s no bad reflection. To those through to the final rounds of judging - now it gets even more interesting!

“Feel free to tweet your success using the hashtag #publicaawards - share the news with your staff and customers. Making it into the final is no mean feat in itself, so I’d urge you all to celebrate your success.”

Judging

The Publican Awards is the most rigorous competition in the sector, with several stages of judging, ranging from headquarter and site visits by judges, mystery shopper visits, tenant tracker research and also a final stage “Dragon’s Den” style grilling from a panel of leading industry experts.

With over 25 years of experience, these awards are truly the ones to win for pub companies and are hotly contested.

Bedington added: “We’re now moving onto the next stages of the judging, with judges hitting the road. I’d like to wish all of our finalists the very best of luck for the next few months, and look forward to seeing everyone on the night in March.

“With our move to our new venue, Evolution in Battersea, we’re looking forward to putting on the best event yet - finalist or not, this is not a night to miss.” To book a table to the awards, contact Joanne Horton on 01293 610403, or email her on joanne.horton@wrbm.com.