The companies leading culture change in 2025

Ten years in the Business Culture Awards has become a showcase of organisations making bold, deliberate choices about the kind of workplaces they want to build. And this year, as digital transformation solutions company UST was named the Overall Winner for 2025, that message felt clearer than ever: outstanding cultures don’t happen by accident. They happen because leaders choose them.

Opening the celebration, awards founder and chair of judges Tim Pointer set the tone for the night. “These Awards have shone a spotlight on those who choose to lead differently – tonight, you’re all part of that story.”

That idea of choice – intentional, practical, values-led – ran through the packed Grand Connaught Rooms in London from the very start. This year’s ceremony sold out its 450 seats, drawing finalists from across the UK and from as far afield as the Middle East, the United States, Poland and Ukraine. As Pointer acknowledged, the organisations represented in the room have each made a series of conscious decisions about how they want to support people and performance.

“I see that you have chosen to respond to the challenges your organisation faces; your colleagues face; your customers, patients and students face… We make our choices – and tonight, we celebrate that.”

As the official media partner for the Awards The People Space was there to capture the themes, insights and standout practices shaping this year’s winners. From prioritising financial wellbeing to investing in DEIB, volunteering and new ways of working the 2025 cohort reflects the decisions organisations have made – often in difficult, high-pressure contexts – to build cultures where people and performance genuinely thrive.

Across every category the judges saw the same pattern: leaders choosing clarity over complexity, humanity over hierarchy and long-term cultural strength over short-term convenience. It’s this consistency of intent, Pointer noted, that has shaped the Awards over the past decade and continues to raise the standard for what great work looks like.

So, in that spirit of celebrating deliberate action, here are the organisations recognised at the 10th Annual Business Culture Awards – each demonstrating what it means to choose better, lead differently and create workplaces where people can truly thrive:

Business Culture Awards 2025 Winners

Business Culture Awards: Overall Winner

Winner: UST

Best Business Transformation Initiative

Winner: LRQA

Highly Commended: Sage + ZRG Consulting Solutions

Best Learning Initiative for Business Culture (Very Large)

Winner: Sodexo + The Happy Consultancy Group

Highly Commended: Mitie + Best At Digital

Best Learning Initiative for Business Culture (Large)

Winner: Phoenix Group + Cowry Consulting + Mhor Collective + SCVO

Highly Commended: ATG Entertainment

Best Learning Initiative for Business Culture (Small to Medium)

Winner: Dishoom

Highly Commended: MIGSO-PCUBED

Business Culture Builder Award

Winner: UST

Highly Commended: Cathay Securities Investment Trust

Sponsored by AOEC

Best Business Culture Definition Award

Winner: FutureMeds

Highly Commended: Universal Partners

Leading with Purpose for Business Culture

Winner: gunnercooke

Sponsored by CMP

Business Culture Leadership Award

Winner: Harworth Group - Kate Morris-Bates

Highly Commended: Fanvue - William Monange + Joel Morris

Sponsored by Culture Impact

Business Culture Team Award

Winner: AtkinsRéalis Nuclear EMEA - Behaviour and Culture Facilitators

Highly Commended: UST - Office of Values & Culture

Best Brand & Values Initiative for Business Culture

Winner: TruRating

Highly Commended: Delta Electronics EMEA

Sponsored by FutureMeds

Future Workplace Readiness Award

Winner: Interlink

Highly Commended: Financial Times

Sponsored by Squire Patton Boggs

Business Culture Innovation

Winner: UST

Highly Commended: The Fundraising Partnership

Best CSR/Corporate Sustainability Initiative

Winner: Patron Capital

Highly Commended: Beyondly

Best Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

Winner: Cawston Press, Pip & Nut, Lucky Saint, Anglepoise, Absolute Collagen, MOTH

Drinks & Bold Bean Co. + Plans With Purpose (JEDI MATTERS Collective)

International Winner: Kernel

Best Wellbeing Initiative for Business Culture

Winner: FIECON

Highly Commended: DFDS UK&I

Best Coaching, Mentoring &/or Personal Development Initiative for Business Culture (Large Organisation)

Winner: Bayer + EZRA

Highly Commended: SoftServe

Best Coaching, Mentoring &/or Personal Development Initiative for Business Culture (Small to Medium Organisation)

Winner: Pernod Ricard UK

Best Working Environments & Practices Initiative

Winner: TMX Trayport

Employee Voice Initiative for Business Culture

Winner: Samsic UK

Highly Commended: XPS Group

Best Internal Communications Strategy for Business Culture

Winner: Goodbody

Highly Commended: British Gas + Cowry Consulting

Best Talent Approaches for Business Culture

Winner: Dishoom

Highly Commended: Currys + People Made

Best Use of Technology &/or Analytics for Business Culture

Winner: KPMG + Deltabase

Highly Commended: Ringier Axel Springer Polska

Aligning Culture Award

Winner: Noble Foods

Highly Commended: Todays Dental

Best Large Organisation for Business Culture

Winner: Sage + ZRG Consulting Solutions

Highly Commended: Bright Horizons

Best Medium Organisation for Business Culture

Winner: XPS Group

Highly Commended: Goodbody

Best Small Organisation for Business Culture

Winner: Harworth Group

Highly Commended: Chadwick Lawrence Solicitors

Best Public / Not-For-Profit Organisation for Business Culture

Winner: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust

Highly Commended: University of Manchester + CMP

Best International Initiative for Business Culture

Winner: LRQA

Highly Commended: Mazda Global + t-three

Business Culture Consultancy of the Year Award

Winner: Culture Consultancy

Highly Commended: The Happy Consultancy Group