9 minute read
2021 Sussex business awards winners announced
The 32nd year of the Sussex Business Awards took place on December 2nd with 500 black tie guests in attendance at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. The business ‘event of the year’ did not disappoint with TV comedian Zoe Lyons hosting a sparkling evening, an Italian chef and a few waiters stormed the stage to sing and there were fi fteen very happy companies who won life-changing awards, and sixty fi nalists who should be rightfully proud of the achievement.
The Sussex Awards are the longest running in the UK and 2021 broke all records for entries, sponsorship and ticket sales as it sold out in days with 150 people on the wait list for tickets. We will need a bigger venue for 2022.
Huge congratulations to all the very worthy winners.
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❛❛ Congratulations on an absolutely wonderful event! The best ever ❜❜
❛❛ What a fantastic night. The singing chef had me in stitches and the show was so slick and professional. ❜❜
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❛❛ What a great event and feedback from our guests has been equally praiseworthy – a great evening ❜❜
❛❛ I wanted to congratulate you and the team on a quite brilliant awards event last night. The venue, concept, audio/visual and entertainment were top notch and everything fl owed well. You should all feel very proud of a job well done ❜❜
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THE 2021 WINNERS
MICRO BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Harrods Corporate Service 8foldGovernance
START-UP OF THE YEAR
sponsored by BIPC Brighton and Hove Holmes Hill Shepherds Huts
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Loch Associates Group Green Mop
BUSINESS PIVOT AWARD
sponsored by World of Books Holiday Inn Gatwick
COMMUNITY HERO AWARD
sponsored by Ridgeview Pelican Parcels
❛❛ Sponsoring the Sussex Business Awards is a great way for us to celebrate local business and help the Sussex economy grow ❜❜
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
sponsored by HSBC UK The English Soap Company
SME BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Kreston Reeves Design Specifi c
LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Verlingue UK Nordell
BUSINESS GROWTH AWARD
sponsored by Brewin Dolphin Educate U West Sussex
BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD
sponsored by Handelsbanken Thomson Properties
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AWARD
sponsored by University of Sussex Business School Graphite Digital
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AWARD
sponsored by Mattioli Woods plc Let’s Do Business Group
INNOVATION IN BUSINESS AWARD
sponsored by Sussex Innovation Centre RaceNation
❛❛ A great awards night – very polished, superbly professional and well executed throughout the whole process. The best awards I think The best awards I think we’ve been to ❜❜we’ve been to
❛❛ I think we have had great value from our sponsorship. The collaboration with other sponsors has been superb and meeting all the companies was amazing ❜❜
BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR
sponsored by FRP Advisory Rob Harlow, Sopro
COMPANY OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Lloyds Bank Roadways
WANDERLUST
The desire to travel after the pandemic and Brexit could see the South East’s small businesses face a major workforce shortage as employees rush to leave the country for permanent overseas residence, as revealed by people management platform Employment Hero. Almost a third (30%) of the South East’s employees are currently looking at international positions because they know that they can earn a higher salary, while 27% feel that there are better career opportunities overseas. 30% say they are bored with their current location.
When questioned, 43% of employees across the UK said a salary increase would convince them to remain in the UK in their current role, while just over a quarter (26%) named a promotion or more rewards (25%) as enough to make them stay put. Just over a fi fth (22%) would remain for a bonus or the introduction of a bonus structure. A change in management would see 20% of British employees reconsider their current international job search.
LOCAL NEWS
❛❛ Best startups generally come from somebody needing to scratch an itch ❜❜
Michael Arrington, founder of TechCrunch
VCs POUNCE
Corporate venture capitalists have South East innovators in their sights as investment levels reach new heights. Businesses in the South attracted £808k in Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) investment in Q3 of 2021, according to KPMG UK’s Global Venture Pulse Survey.
The capital was raised across 73 deals in the region, representing 10% of all UK deals by volume during the quarter, and 9% of all UK deal value.
Sami Fairris, corporate fi nance director at KPMG in the South East, said: “It has been encouraging to see the strong investment in the region over the last few months, in part driven by the ongoing pandemic effect of accelerated digital transformation and disruption. Businesses in the region are continuing to showcase to international investors why the UK, and the South specifi cally, is such a valuable place to invest”.
BUSINESS EXCELLENCE
Five businesses from the South East were winners at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London on November 9th.
Frenchic Paint, Philippa Main of Three Sisters Farm, Jude’s Ice Cream, Sahan Cares CIC, and Simon Morrish of Ground Control all won awards in their specialist categories.
A sense of delight and celebration fi lled the room at the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards as the winners of each of the prestigious 13 categories were announced. The evening was intertwined with inspirational speeches from Sarah Austin, director of the Lloyds Bank British Business Excellence Awards; Paul Gordon, Lloyds Banking Group managing director for SME & MID Corporates; Laura and Jason Kenny, Olympic athletes who between them have 12 Olympic gold medals in cycling; and Channel 4’s Steph McGovern.
AIR QUALITY GOLD
Offi ce workers at Edward Street Quarter in Brighton can look forward to being more alert, productive and healthier after the development received special accreditation for its design, which is set to deliver exceptional indoor air quality.
Brighton’s newest neighbourhood achieved gold certifi cation, based on aspects of design that ensure the development continuously delivers healthy indoor spaces, courtesy of global indoor air-quality body AirRated.
Better ventilation reduces the risk of transmitting bacteria and viruses between people, helping to cut down infection rates of colds, fl u and Covid-19.
Francesca Brady, CEO of AirRated said: “For offi ce workers, lots of factors can combine to have a signifi cant effect on their health and productivity. Lower levels of CO2, achieved through better ventilation, improve performance.
GOING GOING GONE
A major site just yards from the runway at Gatwick Airport has been sold in a rapid deal. The 0.72-acre former Gatwick Coach Centre, including 5,739 square feet of workshops, was acquired as an investment by DTZ Investors, which owns adjacent land, for an undisclosed sum.
Property consultancy Vail Williams brokered the sale for the Old Brighton Road site, formerly used for airport parking, on behalf of the landlord, a private investor. The surrender and sale of the tarmac and concrete surfaced secure site with gated access was completed off-market in just six weeks.
Jo Jackson, asset manager at DTZ Investors, added: “We are delighted to have recently acquired Gatwick Coachworks and to expand our current holdings at Old Brighton Road, Crawley”.
❛❛ The fi rst one gets the oyster, the second gets the shell ❜❜
Andrew Carnegie
CORPORATE RECYLING
Maidstone-based Compare and Recycle continues to push tech recycling to become second nature with the launch of its Corporate Recycling solution, a new service targeted at businesses and organisations. As more companies have embraced remote or hybrid working conditions, employees are issued with laptops, tablets and smartphones that facilitate their productivity and are tightly integrated into their workfl ow.
E-waste streams have not kept up with this increased demand for corporate recycling that is fast, safe and secure because there are not enough solutions to help organisations dispose of used devices responsibly and securely in bulk. Compare and Recycle has provided mobile phone and tech recycling solutions for consumers for over a decade. Now, the company is meeting the specifi c needs of organisations with multiple decommissioned devices.
