The Red Lion, Barnes, is Fuller’s Pub of the Year

Griffin Trophy 2026 winner and runners-up announced

Fuller, Smith & Turner, the premium pubs and hotels business, is delighted to announce that The Red Lion in Barnes [2 Castelnau, London SW13 9RU], has today [28 October 2026] been named as the winner of the prestigious Griffin Trophy. The competition is open to all Fuller’s 194 Managed Pub and Hotels, and sees the winner take home the coveted Griffin Trophy itself as well as a £5,000 holiday voucher and money for a staff party. The competition recognises outstanding business success and is awarded to the pub or hotel that best reflects Fuller’s strategy, values and purpose of creating experiences that nourish the soul.

The Red Lion is a true Barnes institution and has been run by general managers Angus Mckean and Claire Morgan for the last 22 years. They have never stood still, constantly evolving the business, developing and inspiring amazing team members, delighting their customers and really making their pub famous in the local area and beyond.

Over a busy summer, the pub has played host to football World Cup matches, Shakespeare in the Garden and the pub’s legendary Sunday lunches. The Red Lion avoids gimmicks, but looks to develop long-standing events such as its famous Thanksgiving Day event – welcoming cousins from across the pond who live in the area and are looking for a piece of home. Angus and Claire are not just brilliant at executing events, they know how to promote them too and are experts in using social media to spread the word to entice new and returning customers.

This year’s Griffin Trophy saw nine pubs reach the final across the three different trading divisions in Fuller’s Managed Pubs and Hotels business. The finalists were visited by a judging panel – Fuller’s Executive Chairman Simon Emeny, People & Talent Director Dawn Browne and Marketing Director Sam Bourke – who selected winners for each category and the overall Griffin Trophy winner.

Simon Emeny, Fuller’s Executive Chairman, said: “The secret to Angus and Claire’s success is that they never stand still. They are always asking what’s next – creating new reasons to visit, improving the customer experience and continually keeping The Red Lion at the heart of the Barnes community.

“This year, we saw the development of their wonderful garden, which played host to some amazing outdoor screenings of matches during the football World Cup. But this is not just a garden for sport and the addition of a beautiful Italian-style pergola – which has been lovingly maintained by Angus – ensures that this is a garden which, like the pub, is for everyone and has that amazing chameleon-like ability to suit every occasion perfectly.

“Angus and Claire are quite simply the best of hosts and I am delighted to see them collect this award for the second time in their tenure at the pub. If you’ve never been to The Red Lion in Barnes, you haven’t lived!”

Claire Morgan, General Manager of The Red Lion, said: “I am so delighted to see the Griffin Trophy coming back to Barnes again. Every year we look at what we can do differently to make that incremental change to our business that keep us top of mind. It’s easy to take your locals for granted – and we never want to do that, so Angus and I are always looking at what we can do to keep the pub fresh, interesting, inviting and relevant.

Angus Mckean added: “Claire and I are a great partnership both personally and professionally, but this award is not just down to us. We have an amazing, and in many cases long-standing, team that work with us – delivering our vision for The Red Lion. They play a key role in our success, and I can’t wait to celebrate this fantastic victory with them.”

The Red Lion in Barnes is also the winner of its category – Best Premium Neighbourhood Site. The Queen’s Head in Bromsgrove won the Best Destination Site and The Counting House in Cornhill was named Best London City Site. The Chequers in Chipping Norton took first place in the new Publican of the Year competition for Tenanted Inns in the Fuller’s estate.

Notes to Editors:

The Griffin Trophy Overall Winner 2026

The Red Lion, Barnes

Best Premium Neighbourhood Site:

Winner: The Red Lion, Barnes

Runner-up: The Vaults, Southsea

Runner-up: The Prince’s Head, Richmond

Best Destination Site:

Winner: The Queen’s Head, Bromsgrove

Runner-up: The Wykeham Arms, Winchester

Runner-up: Bel & The Dragon, Odiham

Best London City Site:

Winner: The Counting House, Cornhill

Runner-up: The Swan Tavern, EC3

Runner-up: The Iron Duke, Mayfair

Publican of the Year (for Tenanted and Leased sites)

Winner: The Chequers, Chipping Norton

Runner-up: The Berkeley Arms, Chichester

Runner-up: The Red Lion, Ealing.

Fuller’s in a nutshell:

Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC is a premium pubs and hotels business. With an outstanding estate of iconic pubs and hotels across the Southern half of England, our purpose is to create experiences that nourish the soul. At our heart is the warm and inviting welcome of a fantastic pub or hotel, delivered by an exceptional team of over 5,000 talented individuals. We have been delighting our customers – with delicious, fresh, seasonal food, an exciting drinks range, and wonderful bedrooms – for over 180 years. Fuller’s has 194 Managed Pubs and Hotels, with 1040 bedrooms and 154 Tenanted Inns, all aiming to ensure that everyone leaves that little bit happier than they arrived.

For further information please contact Georgina Wald via georgina.wald@fullers.co.uk.

Third-party news items are published as received for informational purposes. Publication does not imply endorsement by the Guild. Please use the contact details within the post for any enquiries.