MORE than 500 attendees have celebrated a record breaking 2025 Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) Industry Awards.
Almost 150 companies and individuals were recognised across 26 categories, representing a 44% increase in entries compared with last year. This led BESA president Pete Curtis to hail the event as ‘a true celebration of the entire building engineering sector and its supply chains’.
The awards dinner and after party, sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric, were held at the Brewery in London and followed the association’s annual conference at the same venue earlier in the day.
The event was hosted by magician Ben Hanlin and categories covered the full supply chain from manufacturers and distributors though contractors, engineers, and clients. The awards reflected efforts to respond to issues including competence and compliance, indoor air quality, and decarbonisation.
New categories for 2025 included: Contractor of the Year winners for each of the four UK nations culminating in an overall National Contractor of the Year award sponsored by Ideal Heating/ACV. There were also two specialist contractor categories for Ventilation Hygiene and Service and Maintenance firms sponsored by SFG20. Also new for 2025 were Distributor and Supplier of the Year accolades.
The finalists in this year’s WorldSkills UK competition were guests of honour at the dinner, while apprentices and young engineers from across the industry were out in force with their talents showcased in a series of awards including the Rising Star of the Year sponsored by Tilbury Douglas. There was also the usual range of specialist apprentice categories culminating in the overall Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by Gratte Brothers Group.
The Manly Trust Management Training Award provided another opportunity for a promising individual with leadership potential to progress their career.
There were three Project of the Year awards covering outstanding work in Net Zero sponsored by Vexve, Indoor Air Quality sponsored by Nuaire and Retrofit sponsored by Schneider Electric. Two Excellence awards for outstanding achievements in Competence and Compliance sponsored by airo and SFG20’s Excellence in Maintenance were also presented for the first time.
The general company initiative awards covered: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Training Provider of the Year, Product Innovation of the Year, and Learning and Development.
The full list of winners and shortlisted companies and individuals can be viewed here