Stand up comedian, Stephen Grant, announced the winners of the 6th annual Brighton and Hove Business Awards at the Hilton Brighton Metropole on Friday 9th October. The gala business event was attended by over 400 business representatives from across the city.

The title of Outstanding Brightonian was awarded to Tony Bloom, saviour of the Brighton and Hove Albion FC.

Tony Mernagh, chairman of the judges, commented: “Brighton & Hove is full of people that love the city and devote time and resources to its continuing success. Occasionally someone comes along who makes such an enormous difference that it is no exaggeration to say that they have changed the city’s future course.

“Tony Bloom is undoubtedly the most recent addition to the list. His generosity and support for the Albion will be a source of gratitude for literally thousands of residents for decades to come. The return on his investment in the football club for the city’s overall economy is estimated to be £13m p.a. and that’s a benefit that everyone will enjoy.”

Brighton is in the blood of Tony Bloom. His grandfather, Harry Bloom, was vice-chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion, and his uncle is a Director. Tony used to watch the Albion as a kid, and became involved on the board of the club when it hit its well publicised financial difficulties. Tony financially supported the Albion behind the scenes for many years. Falmer is a community based project and stadium, and when the project was threatened by the credit crunch, Tony stepped in by turning his loans into shares and committing to invest a further £80m to guarantee the community stadium at Falmer is built.

Ian Lucas, MD of Reseven added his praise stating: “Tony has ensured that the city enjoys a top quality, modern stadium which will further enhance Brighton City’s reputation for events and activities. He has ensured that Sussex residents and sporting fans will enjoy local football for generations to come. His legacy will positively impact the lives of many thousands of people in the future.

Other big winners on the night were Hotel du Vin, which kept retained its crown as Best Place To Entertain Your Clients(sponsored by Midnight) for the third year running, and the Duke of York’s Picture House which won the title of Best Customer Service (sponsored by Nido Marketing) for second year. Brighton Dome was named Best Place to Visit whilst Brighton Festival took the Creative Industries Award (sponsored by Wired Sussex).

Organisers of the BAHBAs reported 170 entries from 120 companies to arrive at a shortlist of 38 companies for 16 awards.

BAHBA sponsors year include RedSeven, Kelta HR, Wired Sussex, Veolia Environmental Services, QED, Nido Marketing, Neilson Active Holidays, Absolute Brighton, The Argus, University of Brighton, Hilton Brighton Metropole, MDhub, Brighton Primary Care Trust, Royal Mail and Nixon McInnes.

For the sixth consecutive year, the BAHBAs have attracted an increasing number of entries from all sectors of the city – particularly digital.

A recent report named Brighton as one of five ‘supercities’ focussing on new economic endeavours, such as  digital media and broadcasting, which will be the focus of the country’s economy over the next 20 years.  And this is certainly reflected in the 2009 shortlist which features 13 companies of this nature.

One of the digital companies who entered for the first time this year, Blast Theory, has been shortlisted in two categories.

The award for “New Kids on the Block”, sponsored by Royal Mail, remains the most popular category of all and shows that, despite the recession, Brighton is still home to a number of successful start-ups.  The shortlist features four completely different businesses – a patisserie, a taxi service, a book shop and a sound production company.

Two companies will be defending their titles this year.  The Hotel du Vin, which has won Best Place to Entertain Your Clients for two years running, will be hoping to take the trophy for a record-breaking third time whilst The Duke of York’s Picturehouse will be defending its title of Best Customer Service for the second year.

Tony Mernagh, Executive Director of the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership, took the Chair to lead the judges in their decisions this year.  He was joined by representatives of Sussex Innovation Centre, MdHub, Wired Sussex, Acumen Business Law, Nido Marketing and sponsor representatives.

Commenting on the entries: “The quality of the applicants goes from strength to strength and I am constantly amazed at the number of clearly world class businesses we have right here in the city. The judging gets harder every year because there are just so many great applicants to choose from.”

Entries to the 2009 BAHBAs are now closed – and we are pleased to say it is our best year ever!

Thank you to all those who entered this year’s awards. The awards have been supported by a whole range of Brighton businesses – from the largest to the smallest and the oldest to the newest.

Most popular category of all has been The New Kids on the Block – closely followed by The Business Growth award.

The Independent Retailer and The Best Place to Work award both proved as popular as ever and, of course, these are supported by the search for the Best Customer Service in Brighton.

The judges certainly have a massive job on their hands!

But business in Brighton and Hove isn’t just about making a profit. Entries for awards such as Equality & Diversity, Responsible Business, Healthiest Workplace and Business in the Community have never been so well supported. Don’t you just LOVE Brighton??

Best of luck to all those who entered.

The BAHBA Team.

This award is a celebration of responsible business practises, and the benefits they can bring in reputation, customers, the environment and our community.

Previous winners include PETS, Brighton House, Infinity Foods.

ENTER NOW

• Ben Crawford - You Got Papped
• Marc Abraham - VET
• Paul Elgood - BHCC
• Peter Jarrette - Brighton socialite
• Roger French - Brighton Buses
• Tony Bloom - Brighton & Hove Albion FC

Who is yours???

Make sure you vote now!!!!

http://www.bahbas.org.uk/the-awards/outstanding-brightonian/

p.s. this is not the final shortlist. Just a selection of those nominated so far. It could be you!

Produced by Brighton based video production company Fat Sand Ltd, this entertaining video was aired to all guests at the awards ceremony which evidently raised a lot of laughter amongst the audience.

The BAHBAs are always after new ideas and the 2009 awards are not different. Keep those entries coming in (deadline 30th July) and keep posted for the new video coming soon…

Who is your Outstanding Brightonian ?

Each year the people of Brighton and Hove vote for the person they think has made the greatest contribution to the city during the previous 12 months.  The judges are looking for the person who has done the most to improve the quality of life for people in the city.

Previous winners of the title include local entrepreneur, Mike Holland, who was responsible for the restoration of Stanmer House, turning it into an exceptional venue for weddings, conferences and parties.  Mike is currently working on the rebuilding of the city Engineerium.

The first ever award was jointly received by local DJ, Norman Cook, and Brighton & Hove Albion FC for its work within the Brighton community.

Roger Marlowe of Paskins Townhouse was another proud recipient for his work in promoting the Brighton hotel industry.

In 2006, Brighton restauranteur, Sue Addis from Donatellos, stepped up to collect her award for her unceasing local charity work and support of the city’s business community.  Donatello in the Lanes is one of the city’s best known and most admired restaurants and Sue is equally well regarded for her hard work.

Last year’s winner was Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for East Sussex, Peter Field, who has involved himself in the issues facing single homeless people in Brighton for over 40 years.

So who do you think should receive the accolade of Outstanding Brightonian for 2009?

Forget the recession.  In these times of doom and gloom we need something to put a smile on our faces.  And winning an award can certainly do that!

2009 marks the sixth year for the BAHBAs and it is set to be bigger and better than before with eight new sponsors and sixteen categories.

The Awards were officially launched at the Thistle Hotel on Tuesday 16 June at a party that was attended by many of the city’s leading businesspeople including the Mayor, sponsors, judges and last year’s winners and finalists.

New sponsors this year include RedSeven, Kelta HR, Wired Sussex, Veolia Environmental Services, QED, Nido Marketing, Neilson Active Holidays and Absolute Brighton.

They join The Argus, University of Brighton, Hilton Brighton Metropole, MDhub, Brighton Primary Care Trust, Royal Mail and Nixon McInnes.

New awards include:
Sponsored by the University of Brighton, The Award for Innovation in Business is open to any business based in, or operating from, the city of Brighton & Hove. The award recognises those businesses that have stolen a march on their competitors through the use of technological, operational or marketing innovations.

The search for the Best Place to Visit in Brighton and Hove is sponsored by QED. More than half of Brighton’s visitors are people who have been before and who love to come back for more! Is your place an undiscovered gem or one that attracts more and more visitors each year?  Where is the place that most enriches the city and makes Brighton one of the UK’s most popular destinations?

Ian Lucas, MD of Redseven, was last year’s winner of the Sussex Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year which takes a bow as a new BAHBA category.  The combination of vision, creativity, acumen, dedication and energy that makes for a successful entrepreneur is a rare thing and this award celebrates those who have used these qualities to achieve outstanding commercial success and profitability.

Chairman of the judges, Tony Mernagh, the Executive Director of the Brighton & Hove Economic Partnership (BHEP), said how much he was looking forward to reviewing the entries and meeting the potential winners and encouraged all those at the reception to get busy and enter.

The judges are looking for companies and organisations that really capture the spirit of Brighton & Hove.  Innovation and leadership are considered more important than size or revenue.  Visit the web site to find out more about each of the sixteen categories.

Entering the awards could not be easier.  It costs £50 (ex vat) for one entry and £75 (ex vat) to enter as many times as you like.  Decide how many times you wish to enter. Address the criteria outlined.  And click to pay.  Simples!

All finalists will receive a free place at the awards ceremony.

And once more we shall be holding the event on a Friday, 9 October 2009 at the Brighton Hilton Metropole.  MC for the evening will be announced at a later date.

Stand up comedian Stephen Grant announced the winners of the 5th annual Brighton and Hove Business Awards at the Hilton Brighton Metropole no Friday 26 September. The gala business event was attended by over 400 business representatives from across the city.

The title of Outstanding Brightonian was awarded to Peter Field, who was recently appointed Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for East Sussex, and has involved himself in the issues facing single homeless people in Brighton for over 40 years.

Other big winners on the night were Leapfrogg, which was named best place to work, Infinity Foods claimed the responsible business award whilst The Gingerman Restaurants took the award for Business Growth.

In addition, all food to be served at the event was locally sourced by the Hilton Metropole, reducing the BAHBA carbon footprint.

Organisers of the BAHBAs reported an incredible number of over 200 entries from 150 companies to arrive at a shortlist of 34 companies for 14 awards.

Latest additions include discounts for Champagne, bespoke jewellery, hotel visits and a massive £250 voucher for law services, as well as a bar of chocolate and a bottle of wine!

These delights, along with condoms, pedometers, CDs, bubbles, mints and Royal Mail First Day Cover will be presented to BAHBA guests at the end of the evening.

If you haven’t already booked your seat, there is still time!