2018 Winners Announced

Around 500 of the county’s leading businesspeople gathered for the annual Sussex Business Awards ceremony held at The Grand Brighton on November 29th. Celebrating thirty years in 2018, the awards are the most sought-after accolade by organisations from every sector in Sussex.

This year saw a record-breaking number of nominations for each category, with representatives from sixteen towns across the county making the shortlist of fifty-one finalists. Judges had an enormously difficult task, as the entries were of such a high standard

The judging panel, chaired by Mike Herd, executive director of Sussex Innovation Centre, included representatives from Allied Irish Bank, HSBC, Mazars, Gatwick Airport, University of Sussex Business School, Red7, Coffin Mew, Clearline Recruitment, CountyClean Group, Vantage Professional Risks, LMS Group and Rockinghorse.

Mike commented: “It goes without saying that it is a huge honour to be the Chair of the 30th Sussex Business Awards.

“Each year the standard of entries gets better and better and this year was no exception. This year’s finalists are a stimulating mix of established businesses and new entrepreneurial ventures with a common thread running through them all – resilience and determination to succeed.

“Congratulations to all the winners!”.

The big winner on the night was Rayner which took home awards for Large Business of the Year and Business Innovation of the Year.

World of Books was named the overall Company of the Year winner – an award not directly entered but chosen by the judge from businesses entering SME of the Year and Large Business of the Year. The winner is crowned thus because they have excelled in every part of the awards criteria.

Other winners included Carl Fillery of Boundless (Businessperson of the Year), Paxton Access (International Business of the Year), Morgan Sindall (Corporate Fundraiser of the Year), Jeremy’s Restaurant (Food & Drink Destination of the Year), B&CE (Employer of the Year), MacConvilles Surveying (Professional Services Award), Waffle (Start-up of the Year), Rhythmix (Creative Industries Award), Mabel’s Emporium (Business in the Community Award) and Nuffield Health Haywards Heath Hospital (Best Customer Service).

For further information or to get involved in 2019 email sussex@platinumpublishing.co.uk

Other News

See our Gallery

“Everyone in Sussex wants to win a prestigious SBA and I was lucky enough to win on the first time around. It’s allowed HARE to approach bigger clients with confidence knowing we’re award winners…”

Hare, Sussex Graduate of the Year

“We are incredibly proud to have won two awards at the prestigious Sussex Business Awards. These highly sought-after awards have been of great interest to our clients and I am proud of our team for their fantastic success…”

Haybury (formely Stelfox), International Business of the Year, Award for Best Employer

“Winning a SBA validates the fundamental reason why we came to be, to give Bognor Town a leisure facility which it could be proud of. It reinforces the culture within our passionate team to provide a wonderful place for young people to feel at home in an ever stressful and difficult world where youth provision is lacking…”

The Base Skatepark, The Award for Leisure & Tourism

“Sussex is home to a fantastic business community, so picking up a Sussex Business Award last year was a real honour. It recognises our hard work and determination, and raises awareness of what we’re trying to achieve as a company. Industry awards such as this also help no end in attracting investment to fund our ambitious plans for growth…”

Darren Fell, Crunch, Sussex Businessperson of the Year

“Winning the Professional Services award has been extremely rewarding for Yelo and helped to further raise our profile as one of the leading architecture practices in Sussex. It\'s great for our staff to receive recognition for their dedication and the quality service they provide to our clients, and the whole experience was topped by a fantastic awards evening…”