It is with great pleasure that we announce the WINNERS of the Kingston Borough Business Awards 2025.
Best Brand of the Year Award
This award showcases a business brand’s impact, customer engagement and overall market success in building a strong, reputable presence.
Criteria
• Demonstrate your brand’s mission, and how has it been reflected in your actions this year?
• Demonstrate the strategies you have implemented to increase your brand visibility.
• Demonstrate a campaign that conveyed your brand’s story with your customers.
• Demonstrate the steps you take to continuously improve your brand or services.
• Demonstrate why your brand is deserving of the Brand of the Year Award.
Winner: Time & Leisure
Time & Leisure Media is a high-profile publishing business, delivering engaging local content across a portfolio of platforms to residents in South West London and Surrey. We connect communities and provide dynamic marketing opportunities for businesses to raise their profile and reach residential audiences across digital, print and events.
Best Charity of the Year Award
This award recognises exceptional charities/not-for-profit/voluntary groups that deliver community benefits within the borough.
Criteria
• Demonstrate how your charity engages with the communities it serves.
• Demonstrate a specific project/initiative that has had a positive impact on the community.
• Demonstrate how you measure the success of your work in achieving its goals.
• Demonstrate how you differentiate yourself in the market.
• Provide evidence of satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: RBKares
RBKares is an innovative, local charity that galvanises the community in response to the needs of the residents of Kingston upon Thames. As well as serving people who need support, RBKares is often as transformational for the volunteers. We make a sustainable contribution to the economic, social and mental wellbeing of our community.
Best Cultural Enterprise Award
This award celebrates organisations, teams or individuals, who provide consumers with
local access to visual arts, cultural heritage, theatre, film, music, radio, festivals or events.
Criteria
• Demonstrate the mission of your cultural enterprise.
• Demonstrate how your enterprise contributes to the local or national cultural economy.
• Demonstrate a specific project/initiative that has had a positive impact.
• Demonstrate why your work is deserving of the Best Cultural Enterprise of the Year Award.
• Provide evidence of satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: South Side Theatre Academy
South Side Theatre Academy is an award-winning, cutting-edge theatre academy aiming to break down barriers, empower young people and increase diversity in youth theatre through affordable access to exceptional theatrical training. We offer weekly classes, holiday projects, LAMDA classes, productions and schools workshops, in Surbiton for 4 to 18-year-olds.
Best Freelancer / Sole Trader / Micro Business of the Year Award
This award acknowledges freelancers, micro or small 1 – 6 people teams, operating on a smaller scale but demonstrating quality customer service, growth, and adaptability.
Criteria
• Demonstrate a project where your work surpassed or improved a client’s brief.
• Demonstrate the steps you have taken to improve your skills and expertise.
• Demonstrate the methods / strategies you have used to build your brand and attract clients.
• Demonstrate how you differentiate yourself in the market.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: March Branding
March designs authentic brands and high-performance websites for businesses ready to thrive online. We believe that when brands act with integrity and contribute to society, they not only succeed, but also inspire others to do the same. Our goal is to help those brands grow and create meaningful, lasting change.
Best Health and Wellbeing Provider Award
This award category will showcase individual practitioners or independent businesses that demonstrate their commitment to the wellbeing of people through the application of a range of mental health, personal and physical programmes.
Criteria
• Demonstrate evidence of the impact your programme/initiative has had on the performance of any business or individuals.
• Demonstrate evidence of the challenges faced and how they were overcome.
• Clearly show what differentiates you from your competitors.
• Demonstrate evidence of satisfaction (such as case studies or testimonials).
What the judges are looking for
Judges are looking for individual practitioners, or an independent practice, that are committed to positive culture and health and wellbeing methods for individuals or workplaces.
Winner: All Shapes Yoga
All Shapes Yoga is for all shapes, ages and abilities. Carrying out adult classes across the borough of Kingston, story-based yoga in nurseries, schools and children’s hospitals and doing chair yoga for staff in high-stress jobs such as the NHS, it’s yoga that is inclusive and accessible for all.
Best in Marketing and Digital Services Award
This award highlights the talent and impact of the best local marketing, content, digital, SEO and web developer individuals or teams.
Criteria
• Describe a project that has resulted in increased loyalty, satisfaction or engagement.
• Describe the key challenges that you learnt from.
• Demonstrate strategies you have employed to ensure your marketing and digital services remain innovative.
• Demonstrate why your work is deserving of the Best in Marketing and Digital Services Award.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: March Branding
March designs authentic brands and high-performance websites for businesses ready to thrive online. We believe that when brands act with integrity and contribute to society, they not only succeed, but also inspire others to do the same. Our goal is to help those brands grow and create meaningful, lasting change.
Best Place to Work Award
This award highlights companies or teams that provide consistently high levels of employee engagement, satisfaction and welfare at work.
Criteria
• Demonstrate initiatives you have implemented to foster a positive and motivated workforce.
• Demonstrate how you gather employee feedback and how this is acted upon.
• Demonstrate the opportunities you provide for employee learning, development, and career growth.
• Demonstrate how your business recognises and rewards employee achievements.
• Demonstrate why your company is a great place to work.
Winner: The HR Dept
We provide HR services to small and medium-sized businesses across the borough to help them navigate their employee issues and reach their potential. In a minefield of sensitivities and legalities, we strive to help our clients to protect their business, drive performance and sleep at night!
Best Start-Up of the Year Award
This award celebrates the achievements of the best, brightest and most innovative new businesses (up to 18 months old) in Kingston.
Criteria
• Demonstrate what inspired you to start this business, and how you identified the market need.
• Demonstrate the key strategies that have contributed to your company’s early growth.
• Demonstrate the challenges you have faced while developing your business, and how you overcame them.
• Demonstrate why your work is deserving of the Best Start Up of the Year Award.
• Describe your most important business decision so far, and what made you take it.
Winner: AmplifiED Schools Marketing
AmplifiED Schools Marketing helps primary, secondary, sixth form, state, and independent schools to increase admissions, celebrate success, and build community through strategic digital and print marketing. Our mission is to help schools flourish while saving them money on traditionally costly marketing support.
Best in Supporting Young People Award
This award acknowledges organisations or individuals helping to support young people to find their purpose and confidence throughout their life progression.
Criteria
• Demonstrate the core mission of your work in relation to supporting young people.
• Demonstrate the key programmes or initiatives you have implemented to support young people.
• Demonstrate how these programmes address the specific needs of young people.
• Demonstrate how you measure the success of this work.
• Demonstrate an example of a young person who has benefited from your initiatives.
Winner: Refugee Action Kingston
Refugee Action Kingston supports refugees and people seeking asylum in Kingston and surrounding areas. We help them integrate and live independently by removing barriers to essential services, reducing poverty and social isolation, providing access to advice, English classes, emergency assistance, and community activities. In 2023/24, 2,036 people benefited from our services.
Excellence in Customer Experience Award
This award highlights organisations, teams or individuals, who strive to enhance the customer experience they provide in an innovative and sustainable ways.
Criteria
• Demonstrate how you ensure a high standard of customer experience across your business.
• Demonstrate the methods/strategies you have introduced to enhance the customer experience or improve operations.
• Describe an example where your approach significantly improved customer experience.
• Demonstrate why your work is deserving of the Excellence in Customer Experience Award.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: Visiting Angels North Surrey
Visiting Angels provides personalised care, helping people to remain living in their own home.
We know that home is where the heart is. Treating our caregivers well is important to us, as we want them to provide the very best care to our clients and their families.
Excellence in Hospitality Award
This award recognises hospitality professionals / services that deliver customer or client satisfaction. This is open to hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafés, caterers and venues.
Criteria
• Demonstrate how you ensure a high standard of customer service across your business.
• Demonstrate the methods / strategies you have introduced to enhance the customer experience or improve operations.
• Demonstrate the processes you have in place to gather feedback from customers and act on it.
• Demonstrate what differentiates you from your competitors.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: Escape Hunt
Live the adventure at Escape Hunt Kingston with our range of epically themed 5* escape room games. Step into new worlds, solve puzzles and crack clues in a thrilling adrenaline-fuelled race against the clock. Our fantastic adventures are perfect for days out with friends and family,
or a company team day.
Excellence in Professional Services Award
This award showcases the very best work in professional services (such as legal, consulting, advertising, finance, HR or banking) that truly benefit customers or clients.
Criteria
• Describe the benefits and values that you provide to your customers.
• Demonstrate the strategies you have implemented to enhance professional services in your business.
• Demonstrate what differentiates you from your competitors.
• Demonstrate how you measure the success of your professional services.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: The HR Dept
We provide HR services to small and medium-sized businesses across the borough to help them navigate their employee issues and reach their potential. In a minefield of sensitivities and legalities, we strive to help our clients to protect their business, drive performance and sleep at night!
Growing Reputation Award
This award acknowledges locally-based, independent businesses that provide quality services and solutions to customers beyond the borough, building a reputation nationally or internationally.
Criteria
• Demonstrate the strategies you have used to grow your business beyond the local marketplace.
• Demonstrate how your reputation has evolved over time, and what were the key turning points.
• Demonstrate the values and benefits that you provide to your customers.
• Demonstrate how you measure the success of your work.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: European Engineering & Consultancy (EECL)
EECL is a specialist engineering company providing world-leading electronic and mechanical solutions to space, high technology science, and industrial markets.
Independent ‘Love Local’ Retailer Award
This award recognises independent businesses that have gone out of their way to provide an entrepreneurial commitment and spirit to local customer satisfaction.
Criteria
• Demonstrate the ideas you have used to grow your business in a competitive marketplace.
• Demonstrate your biggest challenge as an independent retailer, and how you have overcome it.
• Demonstrate how you foster loyalty among your customers.
• Demonstrate what differentiates you from your competitors.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: The Optical Gallery
The Optical Gallery Chessington is an award-winning independent optician and audiologist. Inspired by art galleries, we offer bespoke eyewear styling consultations, expert eye and hearing care, and unique independent frames. Actively supporting the local community through school sponsorships and events, we provide exceptional, personalised service that blends fashion and function.
Sustainability Impact Award
This award recognises organisations, individuals or suppliers who embrace sustainability in their business or to the benefit of their clients.
Criteria
• Demonstrate what inspired your focus on sustainability.
• Demonstrate how you integrate sustainability into your decision-making processes and daily operations.
• Demonstrate how you incorporate social responsibility into your sustainability practices.
• Demonstrate how you measure the impact of your work on the environment or community.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: Just Clear
Just Clear is an award-winning, zero-to-landfill clearance company with a strong brand and household name in sustainable clearance. Committed to net zero and ESG-driven practices, we provide eco-friendly clearances nationwide. With 4,300 five-star Trustpilot reviews and recognition from Sir David Attenborough, we lead the way in responsible, ethical disposal.
Technology Impact Award
This award highlights the achievements of companies / individuals who have made positive business impacts utilising the latest technology, such as AI, automation, XR or other digital programmes.
Criteria
• Demonstrate the features of the technology/programmes that you have utilised.
• Demonstrate how you identified the market need for this technology/programmes.
• Demonstrate key technical challenges that you have learnt from.
• Demonstrate how your use of technology/programme benefited your clients/customers.
• Provide evidence of customer satisfaction (such as a case study or testimonials).
Winner: JNDC
JNDC is a Kingston-based, environmentally focused engineering design consultancy with 17 years of experience. We help start-ups and multinationals solve complex challenges sustainably – cutting landfill emissions with a food waste system, stopping microplastics with a water filter, and recycling garments into raw materials to create lasting impact.
www.jndc.co.uk
