June 2025 - Best Bar None

BII Licensee of the Year Award 2025 Winner: Mike Dove and Tommy Higgs – The Three Horseshoes, Witney

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 2025, operators from across the UK have been whittled down from a field of over 500 nominations, all vying to become the next BII Licensee of the Year winner.

Following a final judging day at Sky Head Quarters on Monday 16 th June, where each of the six finalists faced three panels of industry experts and operators, Tommy Higgs and Mike Dove from The Three Horseshoes in Witney, were named as the champions! Excelling across all areas of the competition, they faced incredibly tough competition from the five other finalists, from a diverse range of business models and experience, with their performance on the final judging day seeing them take the top spot.

Tommy and Mike were crowned winners in front of a crowd of 900 colleagues and industry friends at this year’s BII Summer Event, hosted on Tuesday 17th June, at the beautiful HAC Royal Artillery Gardens in Moorgate. The event was also livestreamed for the first time, allowing the finalists’ pubs to join the event online to cheer them on.

Having taken on their pub just 2 years ago, these best friends, who have been dreaming of owning and running their own venue for a decade, secured the top spot, giving an emotional and heartfelt winner’s speech.

Steve Alton, Chief Executive of the BII commented: “I’d like to offer a massive congratulations to Mike and Tommy 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, so I would like to also congratulate our other wonderful finalists on this incredible achievement.

“Tommy and Mike have proved themselves to be true innovators, taking a traditional country pub and making it into a truly special space for every area of the community. Their leadership and team focus as well as their infectious positivity won them the award on the day.

“The BII would also like to thank everyone who entered this year’s competition. Despite the huge challenges they continue to face, their tenacity and sheer determination for continued excellence has been an inspiration to the whole BII team.

To see more on the BII, go to https://www.bii.org/

National Pubwatch honorary treasurer receives British Empire Medal for services to the night-time economy

National Pubwatch (NPW) honorary treasurer and regional representative Trevor Pepper has been recognised with a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Birthday Honours List 2025 for services to the night-time economy and the hospitality industry.

BEM’s are given in recognition of meritorious civil or military service.

Trevor has played a crucial voluntary role in supporting National Pubwatch, both regionally in the West Midlands, where he provides a daily point of contact for thousands of pub staff, and nationally, by being an active member of its Committee since 2004. He has been a key part of the National Pubwatch Conference team for the last 18 conferences and has just started to work on his 19th.

National Pubwatch is the voluntary organisation that supports over 800 pubwatches across the UK. Pubwatches are groups of licensees who voluntarily work together, with the support from local partners such as the police to address crime and anti-social behaviour and create a safer night time economy for staff and customers.

Pepper started his Pubwatch journey back in 1998, as a Special Sergeant attached to the city centre team in Coventry, where he collaborated with the police licensing team, the city centre police team and the newly formed Pubwatch.

In 2002, he took ownership of the newly formed City Ambassadors, a team of four in Coventry City Centre, who focused on making the night time economy safe, after years of increasing violent crime

In the same year he took on the role of Operations Manager with the portfolio for community safety and crime reduction for CV ONE Ltd who managed Coventry city centre.

He worked in partnership with the local Pubwatch and regular meetings were held with licensees and police to ensure crime continued to drop. This was achieved, under his guidance, by bringing special constables into night-time economy policing, working with ambassadors and door supervisors, community safety partners and introducing regular patrols. Subsequently, Coventry was promoted to fourth safest city in the UK.

On top of this he was working voluntarily as a Special Sergeant and later a Special Inspector with West Midlands Police from 1982 until his retirement in 2015. He worked in Coventry city centre till 4am most weekends.

As a NPW Committee member he has been the driving force in the planning and delivery of its annual conference. He also mentors new regional representatives and performs a vital role as honorary treasurer, ensuring the retention of sponsorships and that scarce funding is directed at initiatives that promote good practice advice and education.

All of this has taken place while he has been working full time. In 2012, he worked in the University of Warwick Community Safety Team where he was quickly given the lead for night time economy and safer socialising. Under his leadership it was one of the first universities in the country to achieve Purple Flag status.

He now works for Stratford-on-Avon District Council as a CCTV manager within the community safety team. In this role he has been taking the lead in ensuring the CCTV system is fully functional and works closely with Warwickshire Police and the wider community safety partnership to promote a safe secure district. He has also taken the opportunity to seek out funding to expand the CCTV system and enhance the service. He also works closely with the Pubwatch in Stratford upon Avon sharing advice and guidance.

Trevor said: “Getting this BEM is very much a great honour. I have always been committed to making sure that the late-night economy is a safe and secure place for people to socialise.

“This is recognition, not just for me, but for NPW as an organisation and for all the local Pubwatches that are doing a hugely important job in ensuring that the evening economy is safe.

“NPW is very much a part of the hospitality industry and our support is vital to keeping staff and customers safe and secure and allowing safer socialising.”

For more information on National Pubwatch, go to https://nationalpubwatch.org.uk/