Bira's Love Your High Street Awards have seen nominations rise by 20 per cent compared to the same point last year, putting 2026 on track to beat last year's total despite a nomination window three weeks shorter than before.
"We've been blown away by the response so far,” said Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira. “To see nominations already up by 20 per cent, and in a shorter window than last year, shows just how much these awards mean to communities and to the independent businesses that bring our high streets to life."
Nominations close 30 August, after which a judging panel will select a shortlist on 7 September. The public vote opens on 14 September and runs until Sunday 11 October, with the winner announced on 26 October.
Last year's inaugural winner, Headhunters Barber Shop & Railway Museum in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, has said the award gave their business a huge boost. Gordon and Nigel Johnston, who run the family business established in 1981, said the recognition brought messages of support from across their community and beyond, and that they have since welcomed customers from around the world who discovered the shop through its national profile with the awards.
The brothers said their advice to other businesses considering a nomination is simple: take a moment to nominate them, because what matters most isn't a business's size or turnover, but the personal, heartfelt experience it creates on the high street.
Mr Goodacre added: "There's still just a week left to nominate a local business that deserves recognition."
The awards culminate in Love Your High Street Week, taking place from 9 to 15 November, when the winner will be celebrated as part of a wider campaign encouraging shoppers to support their local high streets.
To nominate a business, visit this link.
For more information about Love Your High Street Week, visit here.
To download free campaign assets, visit this link.
Nominations for Love Your High Street Awards surge to record levels
A record response to the Love Your High Street Awards shows how shoppers and communities continue to value their local businesses.
Image: Bira
By Andy MarinoAug 24, 2026
Andy Marino
Andy was born in London just in time to see England win the World Cup, and much later began his career in academia, gaining a PhD in American Literature and lecturing at several universities, including Maryland and Gothenburg in Sweden, and pursuing a sideline in sheep-farming before moving back to London and becoming a literary agent and TV documentary-maker (working for various broadcasters and making series such as the BBC’s Monsoon Railway, set in Bengal).
He has written several biographies, including the Second World War story American Pimpernel, and became the official biographer of India’s Prime Minister (then Chief Minister of Gujarat) publishing Narendra Modi, a Political Biography (Harper Collins).
Andy joined Asian Media Group in 2018, his first “proper” job, and has been there ever since, believing that, while trade journalism might not save the world, it might just save journalism.