
New business of the year
Isabella Josie
Our judges were incredibly impressed by how much this young business has achieved and the reputation it has already carved out. Their social media comments are testament to just what a great.
Sponsor:The Business Hot House

Marketing & Promotion
The Steakist
The winner of this award is a new business which has already made a name for itself. Their ‘opening’ campaign on social media was well thought through and has continued to build their presence with regular updates and offers.
Sponsor:V2 Radio

Customer Care Award
Rainbow International
The winners of this Award impressed the judges with their truly personal service and active support for the local community. This company are often employed at the most difficult times and do their job with sensitivity and care. Their verified customer care feedback and scores were simply remarkable.
Sponsor:Arun Business

Website of the Year
All Things Drinks
The judges loved the simple, clean, professional style of this website. It is easy to navigate and the products it offers are clearly signposted – including pricing – which particularly impressed our judges. The website truly reflects the nature of the business and its brand values.
Sponsor:Shore Skin Clinic

Independent Retailer
L. Guess Jewellers
The winner of this year’s Award stood out for the level of customer service and expertise they offer. The past two years have been difficult for the retail trade, but the team pulled together, changed their business model, survived, and thrived.
Sponsor:Survival 2 Significance Consultancy

Training & Development Award
Platinum Accounting Services
The judges were impressed by the winner’s ongoing commitment to training the whole team and their support for each other in that. Formal training is critical to their business but less formal, side by side help is yielding excellent results too.
Sponsor:L Guess Jewellers

Robert Warham Award
Hollie Wride, The George at Burpham
The winner of this award joined The George in 2018 as a waitress. Having had limited training, she had to self-teach and facilitate all her own training as she stepped up the promotional ladder. She was quickly made deputy manager and several months later was promoted to general manager. The turnover figures she has achieved astounded our judges.
Sponsor:The Beachcroft Hotel

Sussex by the Sea Tourism Award
East Beach Guest House
Our winners purchased their business in early 2020 – just 2 weeks before lockdown. Their mission was to become a design led boutique guest house with the highest guest satisfaction ranking within a 10-mile radius. They have completely refurbished and re-positioned the guest offering and have successfully broken the myth that guest houses are boring. They have moved the business to the number one top performing hotel within their competitor set. An award winner if ever we saw one!
Sponsor:Woods Travel

Place to Eat or Drink
Mustards Bar & Restaurant
The passion and enthusiasm of the owners of the winning establishment shone through their application. The quality of their offering is evident from the fantastic reviews they receive on Trip Advisor and social media.
Sponsor:Gusto Wines

Charity / CIC
Home Start
Home-Start supports local families with at least one child under five, who are going through their most challenging times. They support hundreds of local families each year and their story touched the hearts of our judges making them a worthy winner.
Sponsor:JNR Computer Services

Business of the Year up to 5 Employees
Janet Webb Consulting
This company’s story of ‘helping people do the things they thought they never could’ impressed our judges. A one-woman band worthy of being our smallest business category winner against much and excellent competition.
Sponsor:N L Autos

Business of the Year 6-10 Employees
Barnham Opticians
The winner of this award has been in business for several years and continues to go from strength to strength. Customers love the quality and excellent service offered by the team and, their ongoing development and growth, alongside their future plans impressed our judges.
Sponsor:Clear Computing

Business of the Year more than 10 employees
Meridian Medical
The tenacity of the directors working consistently to turn around and bring the business back into profitability, running effectively and efficiently, and maintaining production throughout Brexit and the Covid pandemic was the decider for our judges.
Sponsor:The Aldingbourne Trust

Team of the Year
The Team at Long Furlong Barn
The judges were blown away by the teamwork shown in this nomination. In 2022 they conducted over 60 Weddings with 25% of these consisting of postponements due to the Pandemic. They say they are a jack of all trades working together to achieve one simple goal. To provide the best possible wedding days or events for their couples and clients. The judges agreed.
Sponsor:Regis Removals

Employer of the Year
Meridian Medical
This is a wonderful opportunity for employees to tell us about their employers – we thought there were some great bosses out there but now we know. This winner impressed the judges with the ongoing improvements and general care for their staff wellbeing above and beyond the basic.
Sponsor:The HR Dept, Sussex-by-the-Sea

Business Person of the Year
Simon Poland - South Coast Cleaning & Property Care
Simon's story is quite extraordinary. Having served in the Army, including tours of Afghanistan, he retrained as a teacher and taught college students. Tragedy left Simon in a very dark place, and he started doing window-cleaning to earn money and restore his physical and mental strength. The remainder of the story is Simon's to tell but safe to say this was a well-earned victory.
Sponsor:Business Network Bognor Regis

Special Award
Emma Bailey, Media Circus
Over the past 18 months this year's winner has personified the values of the Arun Business Partnership. For 3 years she has chaired our own business referral group and when she saw a gap in provision, she set up another evening group so that businesses could meet informally, socialise, learn about each other and work together. That group continues to grow and attract more visitors.
Sponsor:
Overall Business of the Year
L. Guess Jewellers
Chosen by the Judging panel, made up of local businesses
Sponsor:Rolls Royce Motor Cars
