The rules of the game: How the awards work, who can take part, and how we keep things fair for every pet business.
Pet Industry Business Awards
Awards Terms and Conditions
Effective date: 10 July 2026
These Terms and Conditions govern participation in the Pet Industry Business Awards, referred to throughout these terms as “PIBA”, “the Awards”, “we”, “us” or “our”.
By submitting a nomination, casting a vote, participating as a nominated business or otherwise taking part in the Awards, you agree to these Terms and Conditions.
1. About the Awards
PIBA celebrates pet businesses that have earned the trust and support of the communities they serve.
The Awards are based on public participation. Businesses progress through the awards process according to valid nominations and votes received from members of the community, subject to eligibility checks, data validation and the rules set out below.
PIBA does not accept payment in exchange for additional nominations, votes, finalist places, winner status or preferential treatment.
2. Eligibility
Businesses may be nominated where they:
- Provide a genuine product, service or experience connected to pets, animals or the pet industry.
- Operate within an area currently covered by PIBA.
- Are entered into a category that reasonably reflects the products or services they provide.
- Provide sufficient information for PIBA to identify and, where necessary, contact the business.
- Comply with applicable laws, professional requirements and industry standards relevant to their activities.
PIBA may request further information to confirm a business’s location, trading status, category eligibility or contact details.
A nomination does not guarantee that a business will become a finalist or winner.
3. Who May Submit a Nomination?
Nominations may be submitted by:
- Customers.
- Pet owners.
- Members of the public.
- Industry professionals.
- Employees or representatives of a business.
- The business itself.
Self-nominations are permitted.
Allowing businesses to nominate themselves gives smaller and newer businesses an equal opportunity to participate. However, self-nominations are subject to the same validation, submission limits and integrity checks as every other nomination.
Nominators must provide accurate information to the best of their knowledge.
4. Nomination Limits
Each individual may submit one nomination per business, per category, per area.
An individual may:
- Nominate different businesses.
- Nominate a business in more than one relevant category.
- Nominate businesses operating across different areas, where applicable.
An individual must not submit repeated nominations for the same business within the same category and area using different email addresses, identities, devices or other methods intended to bypass the submission limit.
Where duplicate nominations are identified, PIBA may retain one valid nomination and remove the additional submissions.
5. Nomination Information
A nomination may ask for:
- The applicable location.
- The award category.
- The business name.
- The business contact name.
- The business contact email address.
- A business contact number, where available.
- A business address, where available.
- The reason for the nomination.
- The nominator’s name and email address.
PIBA may standardise business names, correct obvious spelling mistakes, merge duplicate records or contact the nominator or business where clarification is required.
The wording supplied within a nomination may be edited for spelling, length, clarity, anonymity or publication. PIBA will not deliberately alter the underlying meaning of a nomination.
6. Categories and Locations
Businesses should be nominated within the category and location that best represent their activities.
PIBA may move a nomination into a more appropriate category or location where:
- The original selection appears to be incorrect.
- A category has been renamed, combined or discontinued.
- The business operates from a different qualifying location.
- Moving the entry is reasonably necessary to administer the Awards fairly.
Where a business offers several eligible services, it may be nominated in more than one category.
PIBA may introduce, remove, merge or rename categories and locations where reasonably necessary. Any material change affecting active nominations or voting will be communicated clearly.
7. Validation and Duplicate Management
All nominations and votes may be subject to validation.
PIBA may review:
- Email addresses.
- Submission timestamps.
- Device, browser or technical information.
- Repeated submission patterns.
- Business names and addresses.
- Similar or duplicate business records.
- Unusual increases in nominations or votes.
- Any information reasonably required to protect the integrity of the Awards.
Where the same business appears under different names, email addresses or spelling variations, PIBA may merge those records into one business profile.
PIBA may contact a nominated business to confirm its identity, details, eligibility or acceptance of its place within the Awards.
8. Finalist Selection
Finalists are determined through valid community nominations, following the removal of duplicate, fraudulent, ineligible or otherwise invalid entries.
Where the published awards structure provides for a set number of finalists, businesses will ordinarily progress according to the number of valid nominations received within the relevant category and location.
PIBA may carry out a manual validation and eligibility review before any finalist is formally confirmed. This review does not replace the community result. It exists to ensure that:
- The business is genuine.
- The business is eligible.
- Duplicate records have been resolved.
- Submission limits have not been bypassed.
- The integrity of the Awards has not been compromised.
Finalist places are not sold and cannot be purchased.
9. Voting
Voting will take place during the dates published by PIBA.
Unless clearly stated otherwise, each individual may cast one vote per business, per category, per area during the applicable voting period.
Voters must not attempt to cast additional votes through:
- Multiple or false identities.
- Disposable or misleading email addresses.
- Automated software, bots or scripts.
- Purchased voting services.
- Organised vote exchanges that create artificial voting activity.
- Manipulation of devices, networks or technical controls.
- Any other method intended to bypass the voting rules.
PIBA may use reasonable technical and manual checks to identify invalid or suspicious voting activity.
10. How Winners Are Decided
PIBA is a community-led awards programme.
Winners are determined by the number of valid community votes received within the relevant award category and location, following verification and the removal of fraudulent, duplicate or ineligible votes.
PIBA does not accept payment for additional votes or nominations, and no business can purchase:
- Votes.
- Nominations.
- A finalist position.
- A winner position.
- Preferential placement within the results.
- A more favourable outcome.
Commercial relationships, advertising purchases, event tickets, partnerships or other payments do not influence award results.
Where a genuine tie remains after validation, PIBA will publish or communicate the fair tie-breaking method it intends to use before confirming the result. This may include an additional public vote or another transparent community-based process.
11. Business Promotion
Nominated businesses and finalists are encouraged to promote their participation and invite genuine customers, followers and supporters to nominate or vote for them.
Businesses may choose to promote themselves through:
- Social media.
- Email.
- WhatsApp or direct customer communications.
- Their website.
- Printed materials.
- In-store displays.
- Other appropriate marketing channels.
Participation in promotional activity is entirely at the business’s discretion.
PIBA may provide optional templates, graphics, guidance, captions or promotional resources. Businesses remain responsible for how they adapt, publish and distribute their own content.
PIBA does not control, approve or accept responsibility for every statement, design, offer or piece of content published independently by a participating business.
Businesses must not:
- Claim to have won before official confirmation.
- Present themselves as a confirmed finalist before announcement.
- Make misleading statements about their position.
- Pressure, deceive or improperly incentivise people to nominate or vote.
- Suggest that purchases are required to nominate or vote.
- Create fake customer accounts, nominations or votes.
- Misrepresent any endorsement by PIBA.
12. Fraudulent or Manipulated Activity
PIBA takes the integrity of the Awards seriously.
A business may be investigated, have nominations or votes removed, or be disqualified where there is reasonable evidence of:
- Fake nominations or votes.
- Automated submissions.
- Purchased nominations or votes.
- Multiple submissions made by the same person in breach of these terms.
- False identities or misleading contact information.
- Manipulation of the nomination or voting process.
- Harassment, intimidation or inappropriate pressure placed on customers.
- Deliberate misrepresentation.
- Conduct that materially damages the credibility or fairness of the Awards.
Where appropriate, PIBA may ask the business for an explanation before making a final decision.
Serious or deliberate manipulation may result in immediate disqualification.
PIBA’s decision following an integrity review will be final, subject to any rights that cannot legally be excluded.
13. Announcements and Results
Finalists and winners will be announced through PIBA’s official channels.
Businesses should not rely on unofficial messages, third-party posts or provisional information.
PIBA may contact finalists and winners before a public announcement for administrative, verification, event or publicity purposes.
Results will only be considered final once formally confirmed by PIBA.
14. Publicity and Intellectual Property
By accepting finalist or winner status, a business agrees that PIBA may publish its:
- Business name.
- General location.
- Award category.
- Finalist or winner status.
- Publicly available business information.
- Approved logo, photographs or supporting material.
PIBA may use this information to promote the Awards through its website, social media, email communications, press activity, event materials and future awards marketing.
Businesses retain ownership of their own logos, photographs and original materials. Where these are supplied to PIBA, the business grants PIBA a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use them for reasonable purposes connected with administering and promoting the Awards.
Businesses must ensure they have permission to provide any photographs, logos, testimonials or other materials submitted to PIBA.
The PIBA name, logo, templates and branded materials remain the property of PIBA and must not be altered or used in a misleading way.
15. Communications and Data Protection
Information submitted through nominations, voting, enquiries or participation in the Awards will be handled in accordance with PIBA’s Privacy Policy and applicable UK data protection law.
PIBA may contact nominators, nominated businesses, finalists and voters where reasonably necessary to:
- Process or verify a nomination or vote.
- Administer the Awards.
- Announce finalists or winners.
- Provide voting and awards updates.
- Share relevant event information.
- Respond to questions.
- Protect the integrity of the process.
Marketing communications will be sent in accordance with the permissions provided and applicable law. Recipients may unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time.
16. Changes, Suspension or Cancellation
PIBA may change, pause, extend or cancel part of the Awards where reasonably necessary because of:
- Technical failures.
- Security issues.
- Fraud or attempted manipulation.
- Legal or regulatory requirements.
- Events outside PIBA’s reasonable control.
- Insufficient eligible participation within a category.
- Circumstances that prevent the Awards from being administered fairly.
PIBA will aim to communicate material changes clearly and minimise unnecessary disadvantage to participants.
PIBA may decide not to present an award where there are insufficient valid nominations, votes or eligible businesses to produce a credible result.
17. Conduct
Participants must engage with PIBA, other businesses and members of the community respectfully.
PIBA may restrict participation where an individual or business engages in:
- Abuse.
- Harassment.
- Threatening behaviour.
- Discrimination.
- Defamation.
- Deliberate misinformation.
- Conduct that risks harm to people, animals or the reputation and integrity of the Awards.
18. Liability
PIBA will take reasonable care in administering the Awards but cannot guarantee uninterrupted access to its website, nomination forms, voting platform, emails or third-party services.
To the extent permitted by law, PIBA will not be responsible for:
- Entries or votes lost because of incorrect information supplied by a participant.
- Internet, platform, email or technical failures outside its reasonable control.
- Independent promotional activity carried out by participating businesses.
- Decisions made by third-party platforms.
- Indirect or consequential losses arising from participation in the Awards.
Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
19. Complaints and Queries
Questions about nominations, voting, eligibility or these Terms and Conditions should be sent to:
Pet Industry Business Awards
Email: hello@piba.co.uk
Website: www.piba.co.uk
Complaints should include sufficient information for PIBA to understand and review the issue.
20. Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
Any dispute will be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, except where applicable consumer law provides otherwise.
21. Acceptance of These Terms
By submitting a nomination, casting a vote or participating in the Awards, you confirm that you have read and agree to these Terms and Conditions.
PIBA may update these terms when reasonably necessary. The latest version will be published on the PIBA website with its effective date.
“PIBA shines a light on the people who genuinely care about pets and their owners. Being recognised by the community means the world to small independent businesses like ours.”
Sarah Mitchell: Owner, Happy Tails Grooming
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