Eden Walk developers British Land & USS have been announced as headline sponsors for the 2017 Kingston Business Excellence Awards.
 
The owners of the popular retail centre in the heart of Kingston, which is set to undergo a multi-million pound transformation, are “delighted” to be supporting the Royal Borough’s premier business event.
 
Kate Lea, Asset Manager for British Land, said: “British Land and USS, as joint owners of Eden Walk, are thrilled to be sponsoring this year’s Business Excellence Awards. We know that Kingston is a special place and we’re already very proud to work alongside many great local companies. 
 
“As we move towards delivering the £400m redevelopment of Eden Walk, more than ever it’s really important to celebrate local success. We’re therefore delighted to get involved and can’t wait to review the entries and see the winners crowned at the Gala Dinner in October!”
 
The fifth annual Kingston Business Excellence Awards are hosted by founding partners Kingston Council, Kingston Chamber of Commerce and Kingston First. The awards, which celebrate the achievements of Kingston’s booming business community, attracted a substantial, high quality entry for 2017. The 70 shortlisted entries now go forward to the second round of judging in September.  
 
The 11 category winners and overall Business of the Year will be exclusively revealed at a glittering, black-tie Gala Awards Dinner, compered by TV and radio star Becky Ives at Ravens Ait on the Thames on Thursday, October 12. Guests will enjoy a drinks reception, a three course dinner with wine, as well as entertainment and dancing. Tickets can be booked at: www.kingstonawards.co.uk
 
Eden Walk, an open air scheme anchored by Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Boots and Primark, has more than 30 retail and leisure units, restaurants, cafes, three office buildings and a 700 space multi-storey car park. British Land and USS have secured planning consent for a £400m mixed-use redevelopment of the centre, which will create an estimated 600 additional local jobs and attract a substantial increase in retail and leisure spend to the town.   
 
The plans will transform this part of Kingston, with 28 new shops, a boutique cinema, 13 restaurants and cafes including a sky restaurant, 380 homes and flexible office space. Three large new public spaces with room for events and new pedestrian routes to other parts of the town centre will also be provide.
 
*British Land’s portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on Retail around the UK and London Offices.  The company own or manage a portfolio valued at £19.1 billion (British Land share: £13.9 billion) as at 31 March 2017 making us one of Europe’s largest listed real estate investment companies.  
 
*Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was established in 1975 as the principal pension scheme for universities and other higher education institutions in the UK. It has circa 375,000 scheme members across more than 360 institutions and is one of the largest pension schemes in the UK, with total fund assets of approximately £60 billion (as at May 2017).

*The Kingston Business Excellence Awards are organised by White Label for Kingston Council, Kingston Chamber of Commerce and Kingston First. In addition to British Land and and USS, the awards categories are sponsored by Kingston University, McDonalds, Bentalls, CNM Estates, Kingston College, Antoinette Hotels and Bosco Group, Exchange@Kingston, Palmer Wealth Management and Natwest, and supported by Kingston Burrows, IQinIT, Print Land and Ravens Ait.

Article supplied by Beverley Morrison