Greene King named best employer at publican awards
It was a night of celebration at Greene King this week as the country’s leading pub company and brewer was recognised for its work as an employer as well as for its leased and tenanted pub business.
The Publican Awards 2023 saw the country’s most successful pub companies go head-to-head at a ceremony at Battersea Evolution in London on Wednesday night, hosted by comedian Dara Ó Briain.
Greene King was named Best Pub Employer (501+ employees), while its Pub Partners business unit was named Best Leased & Tenanted Pub Company (501+ sites).
The employer award recognised the industry-leading role Greene King has played in promoting equity, diversity and inclusion for its teams and the wider hospitality industry, and also its strong staff retention levels, career progression and training opportunities.
Winner Best Pub Employer (501+ employees)
"I’m genuinely so proud to see us win these awards tonight. For the employer award, we have invested so much in the past few years in transforming our business, becoming more people and customer-focused and driving a real culture change with inclusion and diversity at the forefront. Pubs and breweries play an enormous force for good in our society and it’s vital we do all we can to protect them, recognising not just the support they give our economy but also the long-term career and training opportunities they can provide for people." - Nick Mackenzie, Greene King CEO
The leased and tenanted award highlighted how Greene King Pub Partners recently came top of the Licensee Index, an independent survey of tenanted publicans across the country, and judges praised the partnerships Greene King has built with its licensees.
The Greene King Pub Partners team celebrated winning Best Leased & Tenanted Pub Company (501+ sites)
"This award is for our licensees – they run brilliant pubs, they care, they’re passionate and we’re so proud to call them our partners." - Wayne Shurvinton, Managing Director, Partnerships and Ventures
Greene King was also a finalist in two further categories: Best Community Pub Operator and Best Brand/Concept for its Chef & Brewer brand of pubs.
Ed Bedington, editor of The Morning Advertiser, which organises the awards, said: “These awards are the pinnacle for companies to win – the judging process really puts the businesses through their paces and I’m delighted we’ve been able to celebrate with our winners.
“All our finalists are outstanding operators, across a range of fields, so to be able to come out on top is a real achievement and one our winning businesses should rightly be proud of.
“The pub and bar sector is really under the cosh at the moment, so it’s superb to see that these businesses, despite the challenges, continue to maintain the high standards that have put them at the top of their game.”