VOTING is now open for a prestigious awards ceremony celebrating top-tier businesses in Colchester.

Firms in the city have been nominated for numerous awards in the Colchester Business Awards, hosted by Our Colchester Business Improvement District.

Last year's awards recognised individuals and businesses of all sizes, with categories including Best New Business, Business of the Year and Large Retailer of the Year.

Nominations for this year’s awards opened on January 8 and the businesses which have made the final list have now been announced.

Voting will close on Wednesday, March 27 and votes will reopen for the final shortlist on Monday, April 15.

Below is a list of categories and the nominated businesses and individuals.

Indie retailer of the year

  • Ace Comics 

  • Bang and Olufsen 

  • Bill and Bert's 

  • Frippery Sisters 

  • It's All At Number 11 

  • Just Essentials 

  • Red Lion Books 

  • St Helena Shop Vintage Shop (Sir Isaacs) 

  • ​Darcy's Traditional Sweet Shoppe

  • Franklins

  • Serenity Brides 

  • Wax Spiritual 

  • Baccus 

  • Best Days Vintage 

  • Annabelle 87 

  • Claydons 

  • Danielle Styles

Large retailer of the year

  • Emson Haig 

  • Monsoon 

  • Fenwick

  • The Perfume Shop 

  • H&M 

  • The Works 

  • New Look

  • Lush

  • Primark

  • River Island

  • TK Maxx 

  • Holland and Barrett 

  • Claire's

Personal care beauty service of the year 

  • Brown and White

  • Faces Hairdressing 

  • Hair Pimps

  • Icarus Hairdressing 

  • Mango Hair Design 

  • Simple Beauty

  • Manor Health and Wellness Centre 

  • Salon Central 

  • Castle Aesthetics 

  • Inkskinz Tattoo Studio 

  • Bluebelles Beauty 

  • E.M Skin Clinic and Beauty

  • Egan Clinic 

  • Samuel Barber

Indie Leisure business of the year

  • Small Talk Tearooms 

  • Roots and Grooves  

  • Patch 

  • The Silk Road 

  • Coda

  • Church Street Tavern 

  • After Office Hours 

  • Moto Pizza

  • Twisters Bar 

  • Other Monkey Brewing 

  • Victoria Yum 

  • Loofer's Food and Coffee Place 

  • The Purple Dog 

  • Tymperleys 

  • Timbers

Large leisure business of the year

  • Trilogy 

  • The Kings Arms 

  • Romano Lounge 

  • Camulodunum 

  • The Centurion 

  • Mercury Theatre 

  • Slug and Lettuce 

  • Yates 

  • Wagamama 

  • The George Hotel 

  • Walkabout 

  • Curzon Cinema 

  • Turtle Bay 

  • Three Wise Monkeys

Indie service business of the year

  • John Fowlers Solicitors 

  • Owen Aves Opticians 

  • Goody Burrett LLP 

  • Birkett Long 

  • Gemstone Mortgages 

  • Boydens Estate Agents 

  • Ellisons Solicitors 

  • Colchester Children's Counselling 

  • Palmers and Partners 

  • Signals 

  • Blue Sky Printing

Best new business

  • No Name Bar 

  • Toast 

  • Trilogy 

  • Vulcano Etna 

  • Wax Spiritual 

  • Castle Aesthetics 

  • Fripper Sisters 

  • Roots and Grooves

  • Claydons 

  • Fowler Smith Mortgages and Protection 

  • Twisted Treats

  • Textile Collective 

  • Jeans Craft Room

Arts venue of the year

  • Coda 

  • Colchester Arts Centre 

  • Firstsite 

  • Mercury Theatre

  • Roots and Grooves 

  • Headgate Theatre

  • Three Wise Monkeys

To vote, go to colchesterbusinessawards.co.uk.