The hospitality group Mitchells & Butlers, which owns brands including Harvester and the Browns brasseries, was crowned Business of the Year at the 2026 Business Charity Awards for its work with Social Bite.
The awards, run by Third Sector, recognise the outstanding support given by businesses to UK charities and voluntary organisations.
The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London, hosted by the comedian Suzi Ruffell.
Judges praised Mitchells & Butlers, which also scooped the Mid-Term Partnership award, for a “truly collaborative” endeavour with the Scottish social enterprise Social Bite, which runs sandwich shops to help homeless people and counts the A-list actor George Clooney among its supporters.
The partnership began with adding a small donation to restaurant bills to fund Christmas dinners for people experiencing homelessness, and has since raised more than £3.1m.
It has also helped 39 people with lived experience of homelessness into employment at Mitchells & Butlers.
Other winners included the insurance group Howden, which partnered with the cancer charity Maggie’s; Barclays Bank, for its work with the social business Catch22; and the retailer Superdrug, for its work with the end-of-life charity Marie Curie.
Asda scooped the Long-term Partnership award for its work with Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel!, which over the course of three decades has raised more than £100m to fund research, education and vital support services.
And the UK retail bank Virgin Money took the prize for Challenge Event of the Year after more than 200 employees took part in a 17-mile fundraising walk, raising £70,000 against a £15,000 target.
Nicola Inge, associate director at B4SI EMEA, and Hester Davies Bell, social impact manager at Sony Music UK, co-chaired the judging panel for the awards.
The winners in full
Automotive and Transport Partnership – Race To Save Lives Campaign
Banks and Financial Services partnership – Convex Insurance with Blue Marine Foundation
Best Emergency Response Project – Save the Children’s Humanitarian Network
Best Environmental Impact Partnership – Convex Insurance with Blue Marine Foundation
Best Response to the Cost-of-Living Crisis – Drax with Energy Sparks
Business of the Year – Mitchells & Butlers
Challenge Event of the Year – Virgin Money with Mind and Scottish Action for Mental Health
Community Impact – Barclays with Catch22
Consortium Award – Nationwide Building Society with Centrepoint, Action for Children, Dementia UK and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Consumer Goods/Food & Beverage Partnership – Asda Tickled Pink
Corporate Foundation Award – Aviva Foundation
CSR Team of the Year – Nationwide Social Impact Team
Employee Engagement Initiative of the Year – BGF with BGF Foundation
Fashion and Retail Partnership – Dunelm with Age UK
Legal Partnership – Taylor Wessing with Roundhouse
Long-term Partnership – Asda with Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel!
Marketing Partnership of the Year – Superdrug with Marie Curie
Media and Entertainment Partnership – The Circle of Women and Deviate Digital
Mid-Term Partnership – Mitchells & Butlers with Social Bite
Professional Services Partnership – KPMG with The Talent Foundry
Project of the Year – Aviva with Money Advice Trust
Property and Construction partnership – I&G with Leeds Hospitals Charity
Short-Term Partnership – Howden with Maggie’s
Sport, Travel and Leisure Partnership – Premier Inn and Restaurants with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity
Telecoms and Technology – Dell Technologies with The Talent Foundry.