Publican Awards winners revealed

Guernsey and Jersey-based The Liberation Group took home the award for Best Food Offer while “luxury pub group” Cirrus Inns won Best Premium Food Offer.

Inception Group’s Phileas J. Fogg-inspired Mr Fogg’s was named Best Pub Brand/Concept.

Around 1,400 people attended the pub industry’s biggest awards event, which was held at Battersea Evolution and hosted by comedian Alan Carr.

Stonegate was the big winner of the night, taking home gong’s for Best Community Pub Operator, Best Pub Employer (501+ employees) and Best Managed Pub Company (51+ sites). On top of this, its recent acquisition, Be At One took home the title of Best Drinks Offer.

Other big winners on the night include Fuller, Smith & Turner, which picked up Best Accommodation Operators and Best Pub Operations Team.

Rooney Anand, outgoing chief executive of Greene King was voted the winner for Outstanding Industry Contribution for his 18 years in the business. He was praised for his commitment to training and his hard work in taking Greene King forward to being one of the leading players in the pub sector.

Ed Bedington, editor of The Morning Advertiser, which organises the awards, said: “This event is always a pleasure to host, and we’re delighted to be able to recognise some of the great businesses that work in our sector. Congratulations to Stonegate who’ve done exceptionally well this year across a range of categories,” said Bedington.

“They’re a great example of a business that despite growing considerably in scale, haven’t lost sight of the core principles of what makes its operation so successful - people and pubs. These awards are not easy to win, and simply getting to the finals is quite an achievement with a robust judging process which really puts our finalists and winners through their paces.”