Fingers-crossed for success

The Lincoln BIG office is buzzing with excitement after learning that the Business Improvement District (BID) has been shortlisted in a national competition.

Lincoln BIG (Lincoln Business Improvement Group) snapped-up a last-minute opportunity to enter The Good Retail Awards 2020 – being promoted by online publisher Modern Retail.

The winners are being announced at this year’s Spring Fair at the NEC in Birmingham on Tuesday, February 4 at 4pm.

This is the first time the awards – which aim to celebrate retailers who are making a positive impact in the industry – have been held. They feature a variety of categories including: sustainability initiative, community, bricks n’ clicks, instore creative award and the Retail District Award section, which Lincoln BIG entered.

We are now being judged against four other category finalists from other areas of the country.

Lincoln BIG Chief Executive Sarah Loftus said: “Although we had to pull together a quick entry, we were able to answer a raft of questions.  We told the judges about the work of the BID, how we are supporting more than 800 levy payers, including a vast number of retailers and how we are planning to spend £5 million over the next five years.

“The timing of this competition gave us a brilliant opportunity to say how our levy payers gave Lincoln BIG a mandate to continue supporting them, when they voted in our five-yearly reballot last November.

“We shared our priorities for making Lincoln brighter and more welcoming and packed with more exciting experiences and events designed to encourage shoppers and visitors to spend more time in the city.

“Our priorities are designed to encourage more footfall and, in turn, boost the good value we are determined to return to our levy payers.

“We are thrilled to have been shortlisted in our category, which gives us another great reason to shout about what our amazing growing city offers, and we have our fingers firmly crossed for success.”

“We are thrilled to have been shortlisted in our category, which gives us another great reason to shout about what our amazing growing city offers, and we have our fingers firmly crossed for success.”