Welcome to BII, your business partner to a more profitable future.

the professional body for the licensed retail sector

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a thriving membership organisation, supporting its 17,000 members on a daily basis

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the leading provider of qualifications for the licensed retail sector, through its wholly-owned awarding body, BIIAB.

Mission Statement

To be the professional body for the licensed retail sector in all its dimensions. We will encourage new entrants and help them develop their long-term careers. We will provide all our members with high quality qualifications, information, skills and business benefits to help them succeed.

The BII's vision statement

To be the defining professional body delivering consistently high standards, employment practice, and social responsibility within the licensed retail sector.

BII Membership

Whoever you are, whatever you do in licensed retail ... you want to succeed.

BII is the professional body for the licensed retail sector and is a nationally recognised professional members' organisation. With the fastest-growing membership, around 17,500, within the sector, it has the capacity to support every professional working in the booming licensed retail industry.

This is not complicated. I want to know why BII's John MacNamara is sitting alongside Ted Tuppen and Giles Thorley at the BESC inquiry hearings on Tuesday 9 December. WHY?

BII is:

"the professional body for the licensed retail sector / a thriving membership organisation, supporting its 17,000 members on a daily basis. / the leading provider of qualifications for the licensed retail sector, through its wholly-owned awarding body, BIIAB."

What thoughts does this interesting arrangement stimulate in the idle and empty mind of thousands of hard working lessees up and down the land? I mean the few lessees who've actually managed to find enough time between fighting fires to see there is still a world outside their pub doors.

Now then I am no expert on BII BUT:

"British Institute of Innkeepers". What does this say to you? - What it says to me is:'An organisation that represents Innkeepers'.

'An organisation creating accredited training courses to feed prospective licensees into the licensed trade fully equipped to deal with the exciting and booming business which lies before them'? Well, ideally I'd like that to be the case too.

'An organisation which, when you are a member and you call their 'helpline' doesn't get involved in any practical operational issues such as licensing advice or disagreements you have with with your Freeholder, your Local Authority, your Local Licensing Regime or have an opinion on upward only rent review clauses, the way pubco surveyors value your business at rent review or anything else that might actually help'. Well that was my experience of BII when I was a member and called for advice - before I let my membership lapse...