Business Awards Hand Out 20 Trophies; Perth Firms Begin the Annual Hunt for a Shelf That Isn’t Already Holding Up a Kettle

By our Mantelpiece Correspondent

Twenty trophies were handed out at the Courier Business Awards 2026 this week, and businesses across Perth and Kinross have been celebrating, then looking at their shelves.

“We won, and then we got it home and realised the only flat surface in the shop is where the card machine goes,” said the owner of a Perth gift shop, who was not a winner but has thought about this a lot. “If you put the trophy there, you can’t take payment. If you put the card machine on the floor, nobody can reach it. It’s a real dilemma.”

Business advisers say a trophy is good for trade. “Customers see a trophy and they trust you,” said a Perth accountant. “Unless it’s a darts trophy. Then they ask if you’re any good, and you have to play them.”

A Kinross café that has never won anything said it was “delighted for everyone” and was going to put a trophy in its own window anyway. “It’s for best scone in our café,” the owner said. “We’ve won it every year. Nobody else has entered.”

The Perthetic congratulates all the real winners, and would like to say that the Perthetic Business Award for Most Business is still open to entries.

The real story: Courier Business Awards 2026 (The Courier)