What a Night — UK Fencing Awards 2025!
Last Thursday we came together at Mercedes-Benz World, Weybridge for the UK Fencing Awards 2025 — and what an incredible evening it was!
With a champagne reception, a fantastic three-course dinner, the high-energy F1 simulator challenge, and an unforgettable talk from Perry McCarthy — the original Stig from Top Gear, it truly was a night to celebrate the very best of our industry.
A huge congratulations to all our finalists and winners across the 12 categories — and thank you to our sponsors, judges, and guests for helping make this our biggest and brightest awards celebration yet.
Our winners were:
- Agricultural & Equine Contractor – Rob Bell Fencing
- Domestic Contractor – J A Bradley Services
- Gates & Barriers Contractor – Gateway Automation
- Highways & Railways Contractor – Littlewoods Group
- Industrial Contractor – Wyatt Fencing
- Security Contractor – Boundary Fencing & Gate Services
- Sports & Education Contractor – Perimeter Solutions
- Temporary & Hoarding Contractor – UK Site Hoarding
- Supplier of the Year – Hubbard & Son
- Apprentice of the Year – Liam Horton, Knight Fencing
- Project of the Year – Norton’s Fencing
- Lifetime Achievement – Jon Hobden
This industry continues to raise the bar every year, and it was inspiring to see so many exceptional projects, people and businesses showcased.
We’ll be sharing photos and video highlights shortly — so keep an eye on our channels and the AFI website!
Here’s to another year of excellence in fencing — and an even bigger celebration in 2026!
Tackling Ill‐Health in the Workplace
The Keep Britain Working Review undertaken by Sir Charlie Mayfield highlights that one in five working‐age adults are now out of work due to health reasons and that a ‘fundamental shift’ is required to make health at work a ‘shared responsibility between employers, employees and health services’, in order to support people to stay in work.
With employers losing on average £120 per day in profit from sickness absences, the review identifies persistent problems with managing health issues and disabilities in the workplace. These include employers ‘fearing doing the wrong thing’ and causing offence or triggering grievances, and employees worried about ‘stigma, discrimination, or damage to career prospects’. There is also a lack of support for managing issues when they arise, and a new Healthy Working Lifecycle framework aims to help employers work with their employees to reduce sickness absence, improve return‐to‐work rates, and increase disability employment rates. Over 60 organisations have committed to act as ‘vanguards’ for the early adoption of the framework, and the Government is working on developing it into a voluntary certified standard by 2029.
The deadline for the CLC Mental Health Consultation has been extended until Friday 21 November, and members across the supply chain are asked to encourage their workforce to respond, in order to help identify how to manage the primary causes of poor mental health in construction.
Congratulations to Our FenceX Prize Winners!
We’re delighted to announce the winners of the FenceX 2025 prize draw, who will be enjoying a weekend for two in Ghent, including a tour of the state-of-the-art Locinox factory!
Winner: Top Gate Automation
Brendon Croxford and Bradley Andreasen joined us at the UK Fencing Awards to collect their prize — a fantastic travel and hospitality package generously provided by Locinox, including rail or flight travel, hotel stay, and an exclusive guided factory tour.
Thank you once again to all delegates who attended FenceX and took part in the draw — and to Locinox for supporting this brilliant prize.
Driving for Better Business – Weather Conditions
Does everyone understand their responsibilities?
Being prepared for the changes in seasons is so important. We know that every season brings its own unique driving challenges, but preparation and awareness can make all the difference, keeping drivers and other road users safe on the roads.
Think about the journey – can it be planned to make the most of daylight, and to avoid bridges in high winds for example?
When it comes to vehicle checks – make sure your vehicles’ tyres have good tread, and are properly inflated. Check the oil and coolant levels, and ensure lights, wipers and washer fluids are all in good shape and working properly.
And a tip for Winter – remind your drivers not to leave the engine running to defrost the windscreen. Not only is it illegal, but it’s bad for the environment. Use a scraper instead.
Driving for Better Business in collaboration with the National Highways Commercial Vehicle Incident Prevention Team are providing free to access resources to help those who manage and employ drivers. Their Fleet Safety Focus Updates cover an important area every month. This month’s update focuses on Weather Conditions and includes a link to download a file of useful resources for you to share with your drivers, including:
- an article to share with your drivers on seasonal driving and winter prep
- short safety messages on driving to share with drivers on their devices
- seasonal driving safety reminders – posters for your staff noticeboards
- Information sheets from our van and car driver toolkits
Access this month’s Fleet Safety Focus here.
FenceX Feedback – We’d Love Your Views
After a record-breaking FenceX 2025, we’re already planning the next event — and we want your feedback!
Whether you attended as a delegate or exhibited at the show, your views are invaluable in helping us shape the future of FenceX — including whether it remains a one-day event or expands to two days.
Please take a few minutes to complete our short survey:
👉 Delegate Survey
👉 Exhibitor Survey
Your input will help us build on this year’s success and make the next FenceX even better.
Companies House Changes
From Tuesday 18 November, it will be a legal requirement for company directors to verify their identity with Companies House in order to submit their company’s next confirmation statement. It follows the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act to improve transparency over UK companies and tackle economic crime.
Individuals can verify their identity by supplying the evidence requested via their GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Anyone using their GOV.UK One Login will need a mobile phone with a working camera and photo ID such as a driving licence or passport. The process should take around 10 minutes and verified individuals will receive a personal code which they can use for each company they are a director of.
Companies House has announced that a number of its fees will be changing from 1 February 2026. These include the confirmation statement digital filing fee increasing from £34 to £50, the incorporation digital filing fee doubling from £50 to £100, and the digital voluntary strike off fee being reduced from £33 to £13. Details of all the changes can be found on the Companies House website.