Five hundred of the county’s leading business people, including the Mayor of Brighton and Hove and Peter Kyle MP, gathered at The Grand, Brighton to celebrate business excellence across the region, with 17 awards presented by comedian, Simon Evans. The winners were drawn from 42 finalists representing 27 Sussex towns. The big winner on the night was Stelfox who won International Business and the Best Employer.
The accolade of Company of the Year was awarded to International Logistics Group (ILG) who were one of five on the shortlist, whilst last year’s winner of the Small Business of the Year, Ridgeview Wine Estate, was named as “One to Watch” in the International Business category.
A number of individual awards were presented to some well-known business faces including Darren Fell, founder and CEO of the innovative Crunch Accounting, who was named Sussex Businessperson of the Year.
Popular businessman Andy Cheesman from City Cabs received the award for the Greatest Contribution to Sussex Charity. Andy sponsors a wide range of events from ‘The Best of British’ to
‘Paddle Round The Pier’, ‘Pride’ and ‘Dragon Boat Racing’ and works tirelessly behind the scenes to help others. He has been a long-standing supporter of Downs View School, Downs View Link College and Chestnut Tree House.
A new category for 2016 was the Sussex Graduate of the Year to recognise the achievements of a graduate who has made an impact on a Sussex business. This award was presented to Chris O’Hare, the MD of Hare Digital, a digital strategy company that he has built from scratch and now employs 11 people.
Mike Herd, Executive Director of the Sussex Innovation centre and chairman of the judges commented: “This year was a record year! With the amount of entries received, the judging process proved a difficult task. The exceptional quality of the entries really shined through, and many worthy winners were chosen. Congratulations to all the winners!”
@SussexBizAwards
2016 WINNERS
The Best Place to Entertain Your Clients - Sponsored by Title Sussex
WINNER Sussex Cricket
The Award for Healthiest Workplace - Sponsored by Natures Way Food
WINNER Legal & General
The International Business of the Year - Sponsored by HSBC
WINNER Stelfox
The Award for Leisure & Tourism - Sponsored by Southern Rail
WINNER The BaseSkate Park CIC
The Entrepreneur of the Year - Sponsored by Platinum Business Magazine
WINNER Neil Laughton, Laughton & Co Ltd
The Award for the Most Sustainable Business - Sponsored by Wealden District Council
WINNER Burleys
The Responsible Business Award - Sponsored by Checkaprofessional.com
WINNER LoveLocalJobs.com
The Small Business of the Year - Sponsored by Sussex Chamber of Commerce
WINNER Boom Boom The Label
The Award for the Most Promising New Business - Sponsored by Coffin Mew
WINNER Opun
The Award for Innovation in Business - Sponsored by Sussex Innovation Centre
WINNER PULSE.AERO
The Award for Best Employer - Sponsored by Morgan Sindall
WINNER Stelfox
The Award for Best Customer Service - Sponsored by Checkatrade.com
WINNER The Dental Barn Ltd
The Award for Professional Services - Sponsored by Vantage Professional Risks
WINNER Yelo Architects
The Sussex Company of the Year - Sponsored by Mazars
WINNER ILG
The Sussex Graduate of the Year - Sponsored by University of Sussex
WINNER Chris O’Hare, Hare.Digital
The Greatest Contribution to Sussex Charity - Sponsored by The Argus
WINNER Andy Cheesman, City Cabs
The Sussex Businessperson of the Year - Sponsored by Heart FM
WINNER Darren Fell, Crunch Accounting
