The cream of the county’s businesses took centre stage at a glittering awards ceremony last night.
The winners of the 25th Sussex Business Awards were unveiled at the Brighton Dome in Church Street.
More than 500 of the county’s leading business figures gathered to celebrate 25 years of business excellence.
VIPs in attendance included Peter Field, Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex and chairman of the judges; Mike Weatherley MP; Jason Kitcat, leader of the council, and the Mayor of Brighton, Denise Cobb.
The 15 awards were presented by Countdown’s Rachel Riley.
The Grand Hotel Brighton was the only business to win more than one category and took home two awards – Best Customer Service and the Most Sustainable Business.
The Argus category, Best Boss of the Year, went to the co-owners of Cheesmur Building Contractors, Terry Nitman and Steve Hayman, for their inspiring story of how they turned debts of over £650k into an £10m turnover company in less than five years.
Kevin Byrne, managing director of Checkatrade.com received the top accolade of Company of the Year.
He said: “I have sat on the list of finalists for this category many times before. In the year that we celebrated one million customer reviews and approximately 500,000 website visits each month, I am delighted to be able to say that we are finally the Sussex Company of the Year.”
Peter Field, Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, chair of the judging panel said: “I am really impressed at the resilience of our companies and individuals in the face of a slow economic recovery and to see that, far from just staying alive, all our entrants managed to develop their businesses and increase their market share.
“To me it proves that the timely and clever decisions they made while trading through the downturn has ensured that they held their nerve and are ready to take the advantage as the economy steps up another gear.
“Their stories and achievements are all remarkable, and it was only at the end of a very long day of debate that the final list of winners for the awards emerged.”
The winners on the night were:
The Award for Best Customer Service Sponsored by Domestic & General
WINNER: The Grand, Brighton
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Checkatrade.com
RUNNER-UP: Classic Consulting
The Award for Innovation in Business Sponsored by Sussex Innovation Centre
WINNER: Cash Bases Limited
RUNNERS-UP: Madgex, Vent-Axia
The Award for Most Promising New Business Sponsored by Morrisons Solicitors
WINNER: DevAssist Ltd
RUNNERS-UP: Brighton Film School, Sussex Funeral Services
The Award for Leisure and Tourism Sponsored by Midnight Communications
WINNER: Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival
RUNNERS-UP: Fishers Adventure Farm Park, Swan House, The Eventa Group
The Boss of the Year Sponsored by The Argus
WINNER: Terry Nitman and Steve Hayman, Cheesmur Building Contractors
RUNNERS-UP: Kevin Byrne (Checkatrade.com), Nikki Gatenby (Propellernet)
The Award for the Most Sustainable Business Sponsored by Sussex Enterprise
WINNER: The Grand, Brighton
RUNNERS-UP: Jurys Inn Brighton, Pureprint Group Limited
The Healthiest Workplace Award Sponsored by The Montefiore Hospital
WINNER: Domestic & General
RUNNERS-UP: European Recruitment, Madgex
The International Business of the Year Sponsored by HSBC
WINNER: Scientifica WINNER
RUNNERS-UP: Ambiental, Rainbo Supplies & Services Ltd
The Responsible Business Award Sponsored by Checkaprofessional.com
WINNER: Jurys Inn Brighton
RUNNERS-UP: Basepoint, Clear Computing Ltd
The Small Business of the Year Sponsored by Heart FM
WINNER: ARCH-angels Architects
RUNNERS-UP: PSM Instrumentation Ltd, Sciensus Ltd
The Social Enterprise of the Year Sponsored by Legal and General
WINNER: The Big Lemon
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival
RUNNERS-UP: hiSbe Food CIC, Young Start-up Talent
The Sussex Businessperson of the Year Sponsored by Mazars
WINNER: Andrew Hookway, extech
RUNNERS-UP: Andrew Stenning (Searches UK), Terry Nitman and Steve Hayman (Cheesmur Building Contractors)
Sussex Company of the Year Sponsored by Morgan Sindall
WINNER: Checkatrade.com
RUNNERS-UP: Propellernet, The Eventa Group
The Entrepreneur of the Year Sponsored by Sussex Business Times
WINNER: Alan Margetts (The Kitchen Store)
RUNNERS-UP: Mark Bailey (Sciensus Ltd), Matt Turner (Creative Pod Ltd), Nicola Thomas and Richard Zinzan (ARCH-angels Architects)
The Greatest Contribution to Sussex Charity Sponsored by Absolute Brighton
WINNER: John Peel OBE
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