THE managers of a historic 17th-century coaching inn are raising a glass to being named as a semi-finalist in a prestigious nationwide pub competition.

The Queens Head in Troutbeck, part of the Individual Inns group, has been selected by judges from the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) as one of 12 pubs in the UK to make it to the semi-final of the Licensee of the Year Award 2023.

Selected from a field of over 300 entrants, the 12 semi-finalists have reached this far in the awards on the basis of their entry forms, social media and web presence audits, and mystery customer visits.

Head judges Sue Allen and Ashley McCarthy will be making their way across the country over the next few weeks to meet all of the semi-finalists in person to experience their businesses first-hand.

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As the only Cumbrian representative in this stage of the competition, general managers of the Queens Head Samantha and Mark Robinson have expressed their delight at being selected.

They said: "We are over the moon to be semi-finalists in the BII Licensee of the Year Award.

"We are very proud of our team and what we do here at the Queens Head Troutbeck.  

"To be selected in the top 12 in the UK, amongst other great businesses, is a huge achievement.

"We are so excited for the next round of judging, which for us is May 9."

A spokesman for the BII said: "We are delighted that Sam and Mark Robinson from the Queens Head in Troutbeck have reached the semi-Finals for the second time, with Sam reaching the finals in 2019.

"We are looking forward to the next round, which sees our judges visiting their pubs for in-depth interviews before our finalists are decided in May."

BII CEO Steven Alton said: "Our Licensee of the Year Award is the most prestigious and hard-fought award, showing the excellence in our sector - our semi-finalists are of a fantastic standard.

"We are proud that the awards process this year, more than ever, is offering a value-added experience to all those involved with business insight and the chance to evaluate your business available at every stage."