BII announces final six for Licensee of the Year Award

13-May-2024 - Last updated on 13-May-2024 at 11:54 GMT

The six finalists for the British Institute of Innkeeping’s (BII) Licensee of the Year Award (LOYA) have been named.

LOYA was launched in January this year, in partnership with Sky Business, in a bid to find the best individual licensee operators in the UK.

Entrants have been showing the award judges evidence of how they have been building their businesses, teams and communities, with a focus on their resilience, sustainability and diversification.

Selected from a field of more than 300 entrants, the six finalists have been selected based on their community impact, support for their teams, commitment to sustainability and their plans for diversification.

Financial audits

Each finalist had exceptional mystery diner visit scores, and faced financial and online audits, followed by face-to-face interviews in their pubs with judges Amanda Hemming and Ashley McCarthy.

The 2024 Licensee of the Year Award finalists are:

Chris Michaelas & April Reeves – The Dartford Sports Bar, DA1 2DJ

Justine Lorriman – The Royal Dyche, BB11 3BW

Max Shaw & Kelly Deary – The Castle Inn, DE74 2PP

Paul Dexter & Keith Goddard – The Old Swan, NN6 0NA

Steve Banks – The Woodman, Ruislip, HA4 7SE

Victoria Williams & Zac Williams-Wolfe – Fletchers Arms, M34 6EG

BII CEO Steven Alton said: “Our Licensee of the Year Award is the most prestigious and hard-fought award, showcasing the dedication and excellence in our sector.

“The final six this year represent a wide range of fantastic pubs, each offering a unique approach to the care and dedication to their teams and communities.

Meet the licensees

“We are very proud the awards offer a value-added experience at every stage of the competition. Our finalists will have had the opportunity to evaluate their businesses at every stage, from mystery customer reports and judging visit feedback, right through to our final judging day at Sky HQ on Monday 17 June.

“I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all involved and wish them the best of luck for the final stages of the competition. I can’t wait to meet them all next month for our final judging day."

All six finalists will be presented with a trophy at the BII Summer Event on 18 June, where the winner of Licensee of the Year 2024 will be crowned.