One of the UK’s leading pub companies, Punch Taverns, has won the Business Enabler of the Year Award at this year’s National Business Awards.
Punch won the Business Enabler of the Year Award for its Punch Foundation Tenancy (PFT) lease agreement, a fully supported way for entrepreneurs to enter the trade as well as existing publicans to gain the skills and business acumen they need to become highly successful business owners.
Going up against nine businesses across different industries, Punch were nominated as national finalists from the hundreds of businesses that entered.
Punch were announced as the winners at the National Business Awards on 12 November at Grosvenor House in London, where they were presented with their award by Dermot Murnaghan .
Judge Charles Ward, Former COO of Intellect UK, praised the Burton-based pub company for its PFT model, commenting: “The traditional pub trade is suffering from a similar malaise to high street retail. Failure rates are alarming so the Punch Franchise
Tenancy model is a true innovation in supporting pub entrepreneurs to buck the trend through up-skilling managers and encouraging differentiation.”
Andy Slee, External Affairs Director, said: “We are delighted to win this year’s Business Enabler award. This is hugely important for us to be recognised for all of our support we give our licensees and those entering into this challenging industry.
“This year, we have introduced a number of initiatives, such as the Punch Foundation Tenancy, to get our licensees off to the best start whilst continuing to support them throughout their journey with us.
“The Punch Foundation Tenancy Agreement has fundamentally changed the way we work with our licensees. There are now 48 operational sites and proving to be one of our most popular agreements.
“I want to thank our licensees and the Punch Taverns team for their hard work and we look to continue our strategy in offering transparency and the very best business support for our partners.”
The National Business Awards supports The Prince’s Trust, a charity that offers practical and financial support to young people who need it.