J-BusinessDirectory - Adding Space between banners

a few years ago i used this script to increase space between banners that show in the seach screen. i have recently updated to lasted JDB version.  i need to add this back but it no longer seems to work...  any ideas?

This is the file i edited previously  >>>>    /modules/mod_banners/tmpl/default.php

*Notes to myself: Add Spacing between side banners
add vspace="20px" here Line 43*

href="<?php echo $link; ?>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"
title="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($item->name, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8'); ?>">
<img vspace="20px"
src="<?php echo $baseurl . $imageurl; ?>"
alt="<?php echo htmlspecialchars($alt, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8'); ?>"

All these css changes I do in a custom.css file in my template so I dont have to go in and change things in the module css files itself. Have you tried to add this to your template custom css file and it doesnt work?