BCO opens nominations for 2027 Honour with winner to be named at Roundhouse dinner

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has opened nominations for its 2027 BCO Honour, the member award it launched last year, with entries closing at 5pm on Monday 14 December 2026.

The BCO said the award celebrates an individual from its membership who has given time, expertise and energy to the organisation without asking for anything in return. The winner will be announced at the BCO Honours Dinner on 25 February 2027 and will receive a special BCO award and lifetime honorary membership.

The BCO's ticket page lists the 2027 venue as the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH. The evening includes a drinks reception, seated dinner, live entertainment and a special guest speaker, the organisation said.

Nominations will be judged by the BCO presidential team. The BCO named them as immediate past president Helen Hare of GPE, president Andy McBain of NatWest, senior vice-president John Wright of Stride Treglown, junior vice-president Ben Cross of More, group treasurer Bruce Paterson of Quantem, national NextGen chair Beth Starling of Broadway Malyan and chief executive Samantha McClary.

The first Honour

The BCO renamed its Annual Dinner as the BCO Honours Dinner when it launched the award in November 2025. The inaugural dinner on 26 February 2026 was held at Raffles London at The OWO, the redeveloped Old War Office at 57 Whitehall, and the BCO said it sold out. Writer and broadcaster Susie Dent was the guest speaker.

Neil Pennell, head of design innovation and property solutions at Landsec, was revealed as the first BCO Honour at that dinner. The BCO said he has chaired its Technical Advisory Committee for almost 20 years and was one of more than a dozen potential honourees put forward by members. He received a bespoke BCO cube designed by architects Make and free lifetime membership.

Helen Hare, then BCO president and director of projects at GPE, said: "Neil has dedicated many years to the BCO, providing essential thought leadership and guidance."

At the time, the BCO said the award would return in 2027 with nominations opening in November.

Tickets and access

Member tickets for the 2027 dinner cost £375 ex VAT (£450 including VAT), up from £350 ex VAT (£420 including VAT) for the inaugural event, according to the BCO's ticket pages. The 2026 dinner was listed as not available to non-members; the 2027 page carries a non-member price of £565 ex VAT (£678 including VAT).

Ticket	Price (£ ex VAT)
2026 member	350
2027 member	375
2027 non-member	565

The BCO said tickets are limited and sell out quickly. Partnership enquiries for the event go to BCO partnerships manager Saskia Hohler.

The judging panel

The presidential team judging the award was announced in September 2026, when the BCO said Andy McBain, head of branch and workplace design at NatWest Group, had been elected as its new president. Beth Starling of Broadway Malyan took over as National NextGen chair from Oliver Hall of Make Architects, and the BCO said that position now formally sits within the presidential team.

McBain, BCO president, said: "It is a real privilege to become President of the BCO."

The BCO describes itself as a membership organisation devoted to research and discussion. It was founded in 1990 and says it has more than 4,000 members, along with hundreds of committee members.

Nominations are made through a short survey on the BCO website and close at 5pm on 14 December 2026.