Emerging Concept

This award celebrates a fledgling multi-site format the senior industry believes looks set to deliver sustainable success.

• Brightside
• Buns from Home
• NQ64
• Yolk
• F1 Arcade
• Pizza Punks
• Noci

Award sponsor: Greene King

Best New Opening

This award goes to a 2023 site opening which combines a great location with outstanding design and exceptional customer appeal.

• Brightside, Exeter (Loungers)
• Arcade Food Hall, Battersea
• Masala Zone Piccadilly Circus
• The Devonshire, Soho
• Manzi's, Soho (Wolseley Hospitality Group)
• Sexy Fish, Manchester (Caprice Holdings)
• Gaucho, Liverpool (Rare Restaurants)

Best Pub/Bar Company

This category recognises an outstanding multi-site pub company, greatly admired by the senior industry for its quality proposition, core focus on its people, and strong leadership

• Fuller's
• Heartwood Collection
• Inception Group
• Loungers
• Urban Pubs & Bars
• Incipio Group
• Inn Collection Group

Best Restaurant Company

This category recognises a standout multi-site restaurant group, with a demonstrable focus on its customers and staff, quality offering and strong leadership.

• Caravan
• Dishoom
• Hawksmoor
• Nando's
• Pizza Pilgrims
• Big Mamma Group
• Wagamama

Best Coffee Shop/Café Group

Incorporating coffee shops, cafes, dessert parlours and dine-in bakeries, this award recognises companies have demonstrated resilience, growth and strong customer service.

• 200 Degrees
• Blank Street Coffee
• Gail's Bakery
• WatchHouse
• Caffè Nero
• Black Sheep Coffee
• Knoops
• Pret A Manger

Best Concept

This award recognises a sector leading concept which has made a significant impact over the past 12 months, combining an excellent consumer proposition and dynamic execution.

• Albert's Schloss
• Lounge (part of Loungers)
• Dishoom
• Incipio Group
• The Ivy
• Turtle Bay
• Arcade Food Hall

Deal of the Year

This category recognises the best deal to have taken place over the last 12 months, delivering an opportunity for the new ownership to develop the business and maximise its potential.

• Apollo's acquisition of TRG
• Big Table Group's purchase of TRG's Leisure estate
• Toridoll/Capdesia acquisition of Fulham Shore
• McWin's acquisition of Big Mamma Group
• Young's purchase of City Pub Group
• TriSpan's investment into Mowgli
• Calveton and Breal Capital purchase of D&D London

Award sponsor: Alix Partners

Best QSR Company

Recognising the impressive resilience of quick-service restaurants in the UK, this award goes to a brand that has demonstrated strong growth, contemporary execution and exceptional customer value.

• GDK
• Popeyes UK
• Five Guys
• Wingstop
• LEON
• Burger King
• Greggs
• itsu

Best Omnichannel Brand

This award is for the brand which has found new customers and driven loyalty beyond its core sales channel by adopting an omnichannel strategy. Nominations for this category are via the MCA team, with the senior industry to decide the winner.

• Greggs - for its aggressive expansion across multiple channels
• itsu - for its sector-leading grocery business
• LEON - for impactful retail innovation and travel hub growth
• Nando's - for the enduring strength of its branded sauce range
• PizzaExpress - for its revamped supermarket pizza range and loyalty app
• Pret A Manger- for its ongoing repositioning outside of its core areas and evolution of Club Pret
• Snowfox Group - for its continued rollout of sushi kiosks in supermarkets

Award sponsor: Vita Mojo

Leader of The Year

This award recognises the outstanding leader of the year, as decided by the MCA Hospitality Awards Academy, made up of senior UK operators, suppliers and MCA subscribers.

• Alasdair Murdoch, Burger King
• Ian Payne, Stonegate
• Nick MacKenzie, Greene King
• Paula Mackenzie, PizzaExpress
• Sarah Willingham, Nightcap
• Simon Emeny, Fuller's

Award sponsor: Uber Eats

Panel judged categories

Congratulations, too, to the following category finalists. Independent panels will judge entries by February 2024, with the winner being announced at the awards evening on March 14th.

Diversity Leadership Programme

This award recognises the business which has done the most to demonstrate its commitment to promoting and supporting employees from under-represented and minority backgrounds on their journey from the front line to the boardroom.

• Arc Inspirations
• Caravan
• Chopstix
• Greene King
• Moto Hospitality
• Rare Restaurants (Gaucho and M)

Rising Star

This award goes to an outstanding individual in a multi-site management team (e.g., an HR, FD, operations/site manager) who is rising through the ranks and is a star of the business.

• Amy Primrose, Resourcing Manager, Moto Hospitality Ltd
• Fernanda Dias Antonio, Head of People and Culture, Caravan
• Inga Gruoda, Senior Operator, Pret A Manger
• Louisa Richards, London Restaurant Director, Hawksmoor
• Mel Harrison, Director of Operations, McDonald's UK
• Sean Weeraratna, Operations Director, Gaucho

Award sponsor: Red Bull

Sustainability Award

This award goes to a company or brand that has gone above and beyond in demonstrating its commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.

• All Bar One
• Drake & Morgan
• Gail's Bakery
• Greene King
• Heart with Smart
• Punch Pubs & Co

Award sponsor: Pernod Ricard

Editor's choice: Lifetime Achievement Award

To be decided by MCA’s editor, this award recognises the exceptional achievements and impact an individual has had on the sector over multiple decades.

Award sponsor: Brakes/Sysco