Battle dog groomers named the best in Sussex for 2022

Starz Dog Grooming, owned by Tracy Borg, was named an ‘outright winner’ at the England's Business Awards ceremony on Sunday evening (October 30).

Tracy, who has been a dog groomer for four years, was nominated for the award by one of her customers.

Voting was then opened up to the public and Tracy was visited by a mystery shopper to find out more about her business.

Speaking about the nomination, she said: “I was completely gobsmacked because I’ve never had anything like that in my life.

“I was floored that someone thought enough of me to actually do that to begin with.

“And then to win it was just phenomenal.”

Tracy was invited to a black-tie ceremony and dinner at Guildford Harbour Hotel to celebrate the occasion, and brought her friends along with her for support.

With about 300 people in attendance from other nominated businesses, it was particularly nervewracking for the dog groomer to go up and accept her award.

She said: "I had to go up on stage. I’ve never had to accept an award on stage, never had to give a speech, I just had to wing it and do a speech to about 300 people in the room.

“I’ve had a lot of support from family and friends when setting up the business, so I said thank you to all of them.”

Starz Dog Grooming recently moved to a new premises, which Tracy said is warmer in the winter and nicer for the dogs.

There is also room for a new groomer to join the team once the business takes on enough customers in its new location.

Despite the move, Tracy’s previous customers have continued to support her and she has had ‘loads of love coming through’ on Facebook since announcing her award success.

She said: “It’s just been an amazing experience.”

Starz Dog Grooming is situated at Unit 10, Wylands Farm, Powdermill Lane, Battle, TN33 0SU.

In addition to dog grooming services, the business also microchips a range of pets and stocks natural, healthy treats.

For more information about the business, visit its website.