Meet the finalists for Admiral Pub of the Year

Having shifted her business wholesale from the centre of Perth and teaming up with Admiral Taverns, Katie Long and her team have seen a massive spike in trade and has quickly established the business as the go-to pub in the local community.

A strong emphasis on branding, alongside a huge refurbishment project has seen the business transformed both inside and out to create a superb and popular operation for the residents of Scone.

Katie has built a strong team around her that are hitting all the right notes on service to create a first-rate operation to be proud of.

Sitting on the high street in the centre of Dartford, this is an impressive sports bar operation, and one that goes beyond the traditional sports bar.

Unafraid to go toe-to-toe with the Wetherspoons across the road, operators Chris Michaelmas and April Reeves have launched a series of initiatives, including a hugely successful brunch offer and an impressive courtyard garden which has really carved the site a place on the map for the local town.

Taking on the business at the start of the pandemic, and with a £400,000 refurb, Chris and April have built a business to be proud of, with great attention to detail and a superb offer across the board.

Alongside his day job working for Ossett Brewery as financial director, Jamie Merrill along with his family have created a cracker of a pub in the Boot & Shoe, near Pontefract.

As side hustles go, this is something special, with the team having taken a “roadside boozer” and turned it into a beautiful venue with a classic interior and impressive outside space at the front.

A simple but strong food offer backs up an excellent drinks mix, with particularly well kept beer courtesy of Jamie’s dad’s work as a part time cellarman!

Jamie and his team, working with Admiral have created a roadside gem of a pub that is definitely well worth a visit.

Community is at the heart of this fantastic little gem of a pub, tucked away amongst the terraced houses of the popular tourist town of Porthmadog.

Run by Katie and her team, this pub caters for all walks of life from the community around Porthmadog and the community that comes to visit during the summer months as well.

An impressive beer garden sits at the back with newly installed private sheds offering shelter during the inclement months.

Regular events keep the community coming and a recent Rock the Red event was organised after the cancellation of a popular rock concert in Wrexham.

Tucked away in the small village of Worrall, near Sheffield, this is a corker of a pub and one the local residents should rightly be proud of.

As a new entrant to the pub trade Emma Shepherd alongside her husband Carl, has created a stunning little operation which has quickly become a focal point of the local community. Strong investment and a total refurbishment of the pub to create a space that was welcoming for all in the community has been key to the pubs success. Alongside that, Emma’s energy and enthusiasm, alongside her investment into creating a strong team has helped to create a first rate operation that has quickly become a local fixture.

Being one of more than 17 pubs in just one, admittedly large, village means you’ve got to do something special to stand out from the crowd, and the Needlemakers has managed to do just that.

Operated by licensees Ange and Ade Gilder, over the past three years they’ve transformed the back-street pub, tucked away on the edge of the village, into a destination traditional village pub, featuring open fires, a fantastic outdoor space and Dave the parrot!

With regular events for the locals and the wider community the pub has also held impressive events for charity, raising many thousands for local community groups in a short space of time.