The Publican Awards is always an honour and privilege to host and organise, and this year’s event has seen some amazing companies compete at the highest possible level.
Judging these awards is a tough challenge, as is entering them in the first place, but this year in particular has proven particularly difficult, with little to separate those at the top of their game.
Special congratulation has to go to the New World Trading Company, which has set a new record by sweeping the board in all six categories it entered. This is truly a company that is hitting all the right notes and it shows in its performance in this competition. It has certainly set the bar very high for next year’s event, and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the trade rises to that challenge.
But for now, I’d like to pay tribute to all our finalists and winners from the event – we spend a lot of time focusing on the difficulties and challenges faced by the trade, and too little time celebrating our successes and the excellence that exists in this dynamic and exciting industry.
There are some amazing companies out there and The Publican Awards is our opportunity to shine a light through that window and really bang the drum for the great work those companies are doing. So congratulations to all of you.
But, of course, speaking of difficulties, as The Morning Advertiser was going to press, the Budget was being announced, and it would seem that the Chancellor has offered little to no comfort for many in the sector, with a paltry discount that’s unlikely to have much impact on those operators facing massive rates rises. But more on that in the next issue.
For now, we celebrate the successes and applaud our Publican Awards winners.