The 2026 awards

Local business awards,
chosen by the community

The community nominates the local businesses it loves, then votes to back them. The people who know a place best are the ones who decide, and that is what makes a win here mean something.

Find your communityNominate a local business

Nominations are open. Awards running right across the UK.

2026Status:Nominations open
Nominations close in 6 daysWest Midlands

Nominations close in West Midlands.

Find your community

Where you come in

With awards running right across the UK, find your local community and vote to support your favourite local businesses.

Not sure how any of this works? Start with business awards in the UK, what they are and how ours are decided.

How it works

From a local favourite to a winner

It starts with somebody thinking of a local business they love, and ends with a whole community getting behind it. Here’s how we help that happen.

  1. The community
    nominates

    Anyone in the community can nominate a local business they love and say why. It’s usually the place they’d recommend to a friend without being asked.

  2. The business
    says yes

    Nothing is automatic. We get in touch, they decide whether to take part, and once they say yes we give them their own voting page to share.

  3. The community
    votes

    Friends, neighbours, regulars: everyone who knows the place can back it. Each vote is confirmed by text, so a local business knows the support behind it is real.

See how it all works

Six steps in all, about two minutes to read.

Whose decision it is

The people who
know them best

Every vote comes from somebody who actually walks through the door. The people closest to a local business are the ones who decide who wins, and that’s the whole idea.

Nominated and voted for by the community

Free to enter
There’s no fee to be put forward and no fee to accept. That is the same everywhere we run.
The community decides
The votes decide who wins, and we check every one of them before anything gets published.
No running totals
Nominees are listed alphabetically, never by score, and nobody sees a count while voting is open. A vote should be what you think, not what everyone else thinks.

In their own words

What it felt like, from the people it happened to

We ask every winner the same question after the result: how did you feel when you found out? These are their answers.

  • The whole team were so proud of what we have all achieved. Hard work and dedication by each and every member was rewarded in that moment.
    Academy TheatreYorkshire 2026
  • Total shock, followed by a lot of shouting and a celebratory sandwich (obviously). It felt surreal.
    BreadwinNorth East 2026
  • We're over the moon to have won not just locally but in the whole county! In particular during the challenging times we mentioned previously. It is great to know that we're providing a service we can continue to be proud of and that all the hard work is recognised.
    Abbeydale Cottage NurseryYorkshire 2026
  • Disbelief that our small store had achieved something so grand and immensely proud.
    Bay GamesNorth East 2026
  • I was absolutely over the moon! We were actually on holiday when I found out, so my husband and daughter took me out for a lovely celebratory meal. It was such a special moment to be able to celebrate together, and made the achievement feel even more memorable.
    Amanda Campbell InteriorsEast Midlands 2026
  • Pure shock. As a small vintage shop in a market, awards weren’t something that ever crossed our minds. You just turn up every day and do your best. Finding out we’d won made us feel genuinely, deeply grateful. For our customers, for the people around us, for all of it.
    ANALOGNorth East 2026
  • The whole team were so proud of what we have all achieved. Hard work and dedication by each and every member was rewarded in that moment.
    Academy TheatreYorkshire 2026
  • Total shock, followed by a lot of shouting and a celebratory sandwich (obviously). It felt surreal.
    BreadwinNorth East 2026
  • We're over the moon to have won not just locally but in the whole county! In particular during the challenging times we mentioned previously. It is great to know that we're providing a service we can continue to be proud of and that all the hard work is recognised.
    Abbeydale Cottage NurseryYorkshire 2026
  • Disbelief that our small store had achieved something so grand and immensely proud.
    Bay GamesNorth East 2026
  • I was absolutely over the moon! We were actually on holiday when I found out, so my husband and daughter took me out for a lovely celebratory meal. It was such a special moment to be able to celebrate together, and made the achievement feel even more memorable.
    Amanda Campbell InteriorsEast Midlands 2026
  • Pure shock. As a small vintage shop in a market, awards weren’t something that ever crossed our minds. You just turn up every day and do your best. Finding out we’d won made us feel genuinely, deeply grateful. For our customers, for the people around us, for all of it.
    ANALOGNorth East 2026
  • I honestly couldn’t believe it. I’m so lucky to have the most amazing support from my clients, and I really shouldn’t have doubted for a second that they would get behind me and take the time to vote. I’m incredibly grateful and genuinely touched by all the support I’ve received.
    Amy Thor PhotographyNorth East 2026
  • WE COULDN'T BELEIVE IT, WE WERE JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND CHEERING .
    Abbey ElectricalYorkshire 2026
  • We were absolutley thrilled and genuinely very proud. There is something particularly special about being recognised for a business that has been built over 30 years through the hard work and dedication of our famiky and our teams. It feels like recognition not just for Bell and Sons, but for everyone who has played a part in our journey.
    Bell & Sons RemovalsEast Midlands 2026
  • We were absolutely blown away. We have had amazing support from the moment we opened and we have had amazing feedback about how superior our products are to alot of other companies in the industry and given we are a small gamily run business this means so much to us as this shop literally put food on our table.
    Biltong BuddyCumbria 2026
  • We were absolutely delighted and very proud to receive this recognition. It’s a wonderful acknowledgment of the team’s hard work and attention to detail.
    Auckland Palace ShopNorth East 2026
  • I burst into tears, I think I'm still in shock. This means the absolute world to us all. We can't thank the people who voted for us enough
    Chesterfield Animal RescueEast Midlands 2026
  • I honestly couldn’t believe it. I’m so lucky to have the most amazing support from my clients, and I really shouldn’t have doubted for a second that they would get behind me and take the time to vote. I’m incredibly grateful and genuinely touched by all the support I’ve received.
    Amy Thor PhotographyNorth East 2026
  • WE COULDN'T BELEIVE IT, WE WERE JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND CHEERING .
    Abbey ElectricalYorkshire 2026
  • We were absolutley thrilled and genuinely very proud. There is something particularly special about being recognised for a business that has been built over 30 years through the hard work and dedication of our famiky and our teams. It feels like recognition not just for Bell and Sons, but for everyone who has played a part in our journey.
    Bell & Sons RemovalsEast Midlands 2026
  • We were absolutely blown away. We have had amazing support from the moment we opened and we have had amazing feedback about how superior our products are to alot of other companies in the industry and given we are a small gamily run business this means so much to us as this shop literally put food on our table.
    Biltong BuddyCumbria 2026
  • We were absolutely delighted and very proud to receive this recognition. It’s a wonderful acknowledgment of the team’s hard work and attention to detail.
    Auckland Palace ShopNorth East 2026
  • I burst into tears, I think I'm still in shock. This means the absolute world to us all. We can't thank the people who voted for us enough
    Chesterfield Animal RescueEast Midlands 2026

One person, one vote

Whatever a local business is up for, the rule is the same everywhere we run. One vote each, confirmed by text, from somebody who actually knows them.

1 vote

Per person, per business

Confirmed by a code sent to a real mobile. It’s how we know the people backing a business are real ones, which is what makes a win worth putting in the window.

Winners

Chosen by their own customers

Every one of these was chosen by the people who buy from them, and the story behind the win sits alongside it.

All winners

Aesthetics Clinic of the Year

Status:Winner 2026
CumbriaCumbria

Aesthetics Clinic of the Year · Cumbria 2026

The Good Skin Guru

More stories behind the wins

All stories

Nominate a business
you love

Nominations are open in West Midlands right now. All you need is the name of a local business you love, and a reason why.

Anyone can put a business forward, including a business putting itself forward.

Nominate a businessSee last year’s winners