The BII Licensee of the Year competition is widely regarded as the most rigorous and hard-fought award for individual licensee operators in the UK. Since January 2022, operators from across the UK have been whittled down from an exceptional field of over 300 entrants to crown the BII Licensee of the Year 2022.
Following a final judging day at Sky Head Quarters on Monday 20th June, where each of the 6 finalists faced 3 panels of industry experts and operators, Amanda and Nick Hemming from the Heron Inn, Malpas, were named as the champions!
Nick and Amanda had been strong competitors from the start, which saw them score highly across all areas including mystery customer visits and web and social media audits, as well as their on-site judging visit from judges Sue Allen and Ashley McCarthy. Their performance on the final judging day sealed the deal for these fantastic operators who have proved they have what it takes to be the best licensees in the UK.
They picked up their winner’s trophy in front of a colleagues and industry friends at this year’s BII Summer Event, hosted on Tuesday 21st June, this year returning to the beautiful HAC Royal Artillery Gardens. Despite disruption with rail and tube strikes, the BII’s determined guests celebrated with the winners in the sunshine, showing again the resilience and tenacity of people in our vibrant sector.
Damian Saunders, Managing Director of Sky Business said:
“A huge congratulations to Amanda and Nick for winning the Licensee of the Year Award in 2022. Sky is delighted to sponsor this award and play a part in recognising the individuals that have achieved so much in the industry, particularly after the incredible challenges they have faced over the last 2 years.”
Steve Alton, Chief Executive of the BII commented:
“I’d like to offer a massive congratulations to Nick and Amanda on behalf of myself and the whole team here at the BII, including our fantastic judges. This is the most rigorous and intense competition in our industry, and to win from the largest field of nominations we have ever seen, is truly remarkable. I’d also like to congratulate our other incredible finalists, as getting to the finals of this competition is an incredible achievement in itself. The friendships they have all formed in the last 2 days has been fantastic to see, and we will be sharing more of the best practice from all of our finalists over the coming year.”
The BII would also like to thank everyone who entered this year’s competition, despite the huge challenges they faced during the course of the pandemic. The LOYA competition will return in 2023, launching in January.
