22/06/2026
BII Licensees of The Year 2026 (long post alert!)…
On Tuesday 16 June we were crowned British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) national pub Licensees of The Year 2026 in front of a packed room of almost 900 industry professionals, colleagues and friends at this year’s BII Summer Event. To be even writing this post is surreal enough, but receiving this award in front of our peers and people who inspire us, including the other finalists, is truly a dream come true.
We’re passionate about what we do and even more passionate about the hospitality industry and pub sector. We’ve been BII members since 2022, even before we secured The Windsor Castle, and the insight, training and support we’ve received has been amazing.
It’s an absolute honour to be named Licensee of The Year and to be recognised by the Institute for our successes, positive growth, team care, community focus, and dedication to keeping our pub alive. We couldn’t have achieved this without a great team and without such an amazing community around us.
We took a backstreet pub, which could’ve ended up closing for good, and we worked hard to revive it – creating a local that is loved and cared for by the people who live in the streets and roads around us. We’ve employed local people, trained them, nurtured them, and provided a supportive work environment in which they flourish.
The Windsor Castle is a community asset, for the community, with the community at its heart – a place that has real local value at a time when backstreet community driven pubs are disappearing.
We will work hard to champion the importance of our sector and the need for neighbourhood pubs like ours!
As Steve Alton BII CEO has kindly said, our leadership, innovation and dedication as relatively new operators in the pub sector can inspire others. Over the coming year we want to represent everything that is uniquely brilliant about our industry, and we can’t wait to share our experiences and learning with everyone we meet. It hasn’t been easy but we’ve been able to keep a tight ship and navigate forward in a very tough landscape. We aim to remain resilient and to continue moving forward, providing a warm welcome and customer service excellence at every step of the way.
Thank you BII and thanks to all the other INCREDIBLE finalists:
The Berkeley Arms
The Fleece Inn, Bretforton
The Plough East Sheen
The Swan in Clewer
The White Horse
each one a true inspiration to us and to all publicans and operators. Also big thanks goes out to last year’s winners Mike and Tommy from Three Horseshoes Witney. Thanks for the inspiration, love and support guys! ♥️
