This year’s Bodyshop Awards was a two-day event held on Monday and Tuesday, 20-21 October at The Belfry Hotel & Resort in Sutton Coldfield.
This must-attend showcase for the UK collision repair industry kicked off on the Monday evening (20 October, from 7:00pm) with the Nexuss by Primrose Bodyshop Awards Welcome Party.
Thanks to the generous support of our good friends at Primrose Radar Calibration, Bodyshop Magazine invited the UK accident repair sector – including all repairers, bodyshop staff and the supply chain – to join us and hundreds of their industry colleagues for free drinks and dinner, first-rate networking in a relaxed atmosphere, and entertainment on the eve of the Bodyshop Awards & Expo 2025. It was a massive success and a lot of fun.
Bodyshop Expo and KnowledgeXchange
The following day (Tuesday, 21 October, from 10:00am), the Bodyshop Expo was the first automotive aftermarket exhibition to take place in The Masters Suite – The Belfry’s brand-new £80 million extension that has been luxuriously enriched and expanded to include an 852sqm event space.
This year’s Bodyshop Expo included a special feature – Bodyshop Mag’s KnowledgeXchange – which provided repairers with answers to some of the real-world challenges they are facing today.
Bodyshop Magazine lined up five repair sector experts for this free advice surgery for repairers. Bodyshops were able to book 30-minute one-to-one sessions in advance with the following KnowledgeXchange experts:
- Business Coaching: Robert Snook | BSG
- Energy Savings: Sam Matthews | ECA Business Energy
- Apprenticeships: Eleanor Baker Barnes | Apprenticeship Central
- NBRA Services: Martyn Rowley | NBRA
- Succession Planning: Nicola Sutherland | NS People Partners
History and heritage
Following the Expo that same evening, the 30 Under 30 in partnership with 3M and Bodyshop Awards celebrations took place in The Masters Suite in front of the great and good of the UK repair industry.
This year’s Bodyshop Awards & Expo was the 29th edition of the UK body repair industry’s oldest and most prestigious independent awards competition. It was also the ninth edition of the 30 Under 30 initiative which was established in 2017 to mark the 30th anniversary of Bodyshop Magazine.
Entries and judging for both the 30 Under 30 and Bodyshop Awards 2025 took place in the summer, and the line-up of major awards categories established in 1997 continued with Technical Training Provider, Supplier, and VDA of the Year. Bodyshop categories for 2025 included the ever-popular Bodyshop Manager of the Year, best Bodyshop Group for multi-site operators, and Small, Medium and Large Bodyshop of the Year.
Technician and apprentice skills recognition
The Technician and Apprentice Awards for skilled panel and paint technicians were all about promoting and recognising body repair and refinish excellence and inspiring the next generation of paint sprayers and panel techs to pursue a career in our industry.
The Advanced Technologies Technician of the Year category, which was introduced in 2022, is open to the very best MET and multi-skilled technicians who must hold a current qualification or accreditation at Level 3 or above in both EV and ADAS.
2025 also saw the return of the Apprentice MET category for apprentices specialising in Mechanical, Electrical and Trim, or pursuing a multi-skilled qualification.
The independent assessment processes for apprentices and technicians took place online and in-person at Thatcham Research, ensuring these Bodyshop Magazine categories remain challenging and unique within the crash repair industry. They are specifically designed for bodyshop employees working on the front line of repairs, some of whom were experienced professionals while others were working towards their apprenticeship qualifications.
To find out more, subscribe to the FREE print edition of Bodyshop Magazine, visit www.bodyshopmag.com, and join the conversion on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X using @bodyshopmag and #bodyshopawards2025.
