Award-Winning Year for KSB Recruitment as Hospitality Recruiter Marks 35 Years in Business

Birmingham-based hospitality and catering recruiter named Best Company Overall and Best Hospitality and Catering Agency UK in its 35th anniversary year.

BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM, July 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Hospitality and catering recruiter KSB Recruitment has marked its 35th year in business with a run of national and regional honours, winning Best Company Overall (Small) at the inaugural Birmingham Business Best Places to Work Awards and taking the title of Best Hospitality and Catering Agency UK at the Corporate Vision HR and Employment Awards 2026.

The wins sit alongside finalist nominations for founder and Managing Director Dawn Bannister and HR Manager Ellie Bryant, as well as the firm's sponsorship of the 9th Midlands Food, Drink and Hospitality Awards. Taken together, they cap a landmark year for the Solihull-based agency, which has placed chefs, front-of-house professionals and operational staff with employers across the UK since 1991.

Best Company Overall at the Birmingham Business Best Places to Work Awards:
KSB Recruitment reached the final in two categories at the inaugural Birmingham Business Best Places to Work Awards hosted on 11th June 2026. KSB Recruitment was shortlisted for Best Small Business (up to 20 employees), and Dawn Bannister, MD at KSB Recruitment, was personally shortlisted in the Most Inspiring Female Leader category. At the ceremony, held at the University of Birmingham's Great Hall in front of around 250 guests, the firm was crowned Best Company Overall in the small-business category.

The awards recognise workplace culture, employee wellbeing and leadership on evidence gathered directly from staff, making the win a reflection of how the KSB team experiences the business from the inside.

Best Hospitality and Catering Recruitment Agency at the Corporate Vision HR and Employment Awards:
The Best Places to Work victory followed national recognition earlier in the year, when KSB Recruitment was named Best Hospitality and Catering Recruitment Agency, 2026 - UK at the Corporate Vision HR and Employment Awards 2026. The national title recognises specialist sector expertise, service quality and long-term client partnerships, and follows the firm's shortlisting for five national industry awards across the British Recruitment Awards and REC Awards at the end of last year.

Team Recognition:
The honours extend beyond the company itself to the people within it. HR Manager Ellie Bryant has been shortlisted for Solihull Unsung Hero at the Solihull Awards 2026, taking place at The National Conference Centre on 11th September, 2026. The nomination celebrates the individuals who quietly keep organisations running and reflects the behind-the-scenes contributions that underpin the firm's award-winning culture.

A Founder's Story:
Behind the trophies sits one of the Midlands' most remarkable founder stories. Dawn Bannister launched KSB Recruitment in 1991 with £37 to her name and a three-month-old baby in her arms. Thirty-five years later, the business she built from her kitchen table holds preferred supplier status with major hospitality operators, and her shortlisting for Most Inspiring Female Leader recognises the leadership behind that journey.

Dawn Bannister, Managing Director at KSB Recruitment, said: "I have spent 35 years building something I am proud of, and none of it would have been possible without the candidates who trusted us with their careers, the clients who have called us first for decades, and a team who show up every day and do things properly. A Best Places to Work award is not about the MD. It belongs to the whole team, because it reflects the culture every person in this business builds together."

Giving Back to the Industry It Serves:
Recognition has flowed in both directions this year. Just as the sector celebrated KSB, the firm took its turn celebrating the sector, sponsoring the 9th Midlands Food, Drink and Hospitality Awards on 22 June 2026 at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham. The KSB team also joined the judging panel, helping to honour 223 finalists across 32 categories under the event's Made Of Hospitality theme. Championing the industry it has served since 1991 felt like a fitting way to celebrate their 35th anniversary year defined by recognition on every front.

About KSB Recruitment:
KSB Recruitment is a recruitment consultancy dedicated exclusively to the hospitality and catering sector, headquartered at Blythe Valley Park in Solihull, West Midlands. Founded in 1991 by Dawn Bannister, the firm has spent 35 years matching employers across the UK with permanent and temporary talent, from head chefs and kitchen brigades to front-of-house and management professionals.

Clients range from hotel groups and contract caterers to visitor attractions, event spaces and independent venues nationwide. Every service sector candidate, including chefs, front-of-house teams, kitchen staff, and wider operational roles, is pre-vetted and DBS-checked. Furthermore, their sector-trained consultants provide a quick one-hour response time, keeping clients covered through peak trading and last-minute gaps.
A member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, KSB is also a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, holds the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme Silver Award, and is actively working towards the Gold Award.

Media Contact:
KSB Recruitment Consultants Ltd, Regus Park, Central Boulevard, Blythe Valley Park, Solihull, Birmingham, B90 8AG
Website: https://ksbrecruitment.co.uk

Dawn Bannister
KSB Recruitment
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