Leading pub company and brewer, Greene King, has become the first hospitality business to achieve a nationwide Best Bar None accreditation, delivering best practice in customer and team members’ safety and welfare in all of its managed pubs.
Best Bar None is recognised widely within the hospitality industry for identifying well-run licensed premises and the multi-site accreditation scheme is a new venture for Best Bar None, designed to complement its existing regional scheme model and helping to bring more hospitality venues up to its required standards.
To receive the accreditation, pubs across Greene King’s managed estate were assessed on venue management, staff training and care, customer safety and welfare, and customer service and community, with the pub company achieving a 100% pass rate.
Assad Malic, chief communications and sustainability officer at Greene King, said: “We want all of our pubs to be safe and welcoming for all, so to achieve a 100% pass rate in this new Best Bar None accreditation scheme, is a real testament to the hard work and commitment of all our pub and operations teams as they strive to provide a safe environment for our customers to enjoy.
“It’s been extremely important to us to invest the time and effort into upskilling our teams to reach the highest standards of operational excellence, as we have a responsibility, not only to our customers but also to our pub teams, in reassuring them that our pubs are safe spaces to socialise and work.
“We’re pleased to be leading the way with this new multi-site accreditation with Best Bar None and are looking forward to seeing the positive impact this will have for the industry as this gets rolled out further.”
Lord Smith of Hindhead, Chairman of Best Bar None, said: “Congratulations to Greene King’s team for achieving a 100% pass rate in the Best Bar None accreditation across its entire managed pubs estate. We highly appreciate the dedication and commitment shown by everyone at Greene King, working closely with our national team to accomplish this industry first.
Every managed pub team within Greene King has now attained the industry benchmark, demonstrating the company’s commitment to safer socialising. We hope this achievement serves as a catalyst for more companies to join our Home Office-supported scheme alongside over 2,500 accredited venues.”
Benefits of becoming multi-site accredited include; ensuring compliance with the Licensing Act, supporting venue managers to make any required improvements including staff training, encouraging closer examination and monitoring of sites by area managers and ensuring venues are managed to a consistently high standard across the estate.
In addition to the operational benefits, research shows that customers like the reassurance of knowing a venue is committed to the wellbeing of their customers and staff – 49% of adults are more likely to visit a venue that has measures to improve women’s safety, according to a September 2022 YouGov survey.
Greene King has committed to repeating the accreditation again in 2024, with assessments starting in the autumn.
ENDS
Notes to editors
About Greene King
Greene King is the country’s leading pub company and brewer with c.2,600 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland.
At Greene King we are passionate about delivering our purpose to ‘pour happiness into lives’. That’s for our customers, our team, our pub partners, our suppliers and the communities in which we live, operate and serve. Founded in 1799 with offices in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk and Burton on Trent in Staffordshire we employ around 39,000 people across the group with four divisions: Greene King pubs, Destination Brands, Partnership and Ventures, and Brewing & Brands.
- Greene King pubs are located where people and communities come together; pubs enjoyed in cities, towns and villages throughout the country
- Destination Brands is a portfolio of food and drink-led brands including Hungry Horse, Farmhouse Inns, Chef & Brewer, Flaming Grill and Wacky Warehouse
- Partnerships & Ventures includes Pub Partners, which runs our tenanted and leased pubs business and Hive Franchise pubs, and our Ventures Brands which is made up of Metropolitan Pub Company, Hickory’s, Hotels Group and Crafted Pubs
- Brewing & Brands covers the brewing side of the business. Quality ales are brewed at the Westgate brewery in Bury St Edmunds and the Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar. Our industry-leading portfolio includes Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale, Ice Breaker and Belhaven Best and our premium beers, Level Head and Flint Eye, brewed for the modern-day drinker
About Best Bar None
- Best Bar None is a national award scheme promoting partnership working between the on-licensed trade, the police and local authorities. Through enhanced professionalism and customer safety, the scheme reduces alcohol related crime, anti-social behaviour and health harms in the areas where it operates. Best Bar None is supported by the Home Office, the Scottish Government, the police and other authorities, as well as the on-licensed trade and drinks industry.
- Premises are audited for operational standards, policies and procedures, as well as the education and training of staff, in the process identifying and promoting the best and most innovative practice.
Contact: Greene King Press Office, PressOffice@greeneking.co.uk
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