A 27-year collaboration which enabled classical musicians to play in pubs and churches across the Midlands was recognised at an awards ceremony last night.

The relationship between Mitchells & Butlers and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was named champion of champions at the Jaguar Awards for Arts & Business.

The event, which is presented in association with The Birmingham Post, showcased the best partnerships between business and the arts, as judged by an expert panel drawn from both sectors.

Actress Sheila Hancock and ITV arts reporter Nina Nannar presented the awards at the ceremony held at Birmingham Town Hall.

M&B, which sponsors a concert every year at the CBSO, also picked up the Business Link Sustainability Award for its long term sponsorship.

When relocating its head office to Birmingham four years ago the pub company marked its commitment to the city by sponsoring a series of community concerts entitled 'On the Road'.

This sponsorship took CBSO musicians to venues around the Midlands, from churches to pubs.

Their citation read: "The enormous difference a sustainable source of funding can make to an arts organisation can never be understated and Mitchells & Butlers thoroughly deserve this award.

"Mitchells and Butlers has been a model sponsor. City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has made really imaginative use of the money and made it work really hard for them."

Other winners were Redditch-based sewing machine distributor VSM, which won the Parenthesis Brand Identity Award and the Aston Business School Employees Award for its work with Craftspace.

It followed VSM providing machines for Made in the Middle - Craftspace's regional exhibition of new contemporary craft from the West Midlands.

The project included a residency where 12 Birmingham City University textiles students used VSM's sewing machines to explore the possibilities of machine-led stitching.

The Business Development Group Community Award went to Areva T&D and Culturgen, Creative Industries Development for its work to provide education and rehabilitation through the arts to children and vulnerable adults.

The Stafford-based project led to 1,500 people taking part in drama and arts workshops, visits to A Midsummer Night's Dream, creative writing classes and design sessions.

The Marketing Birmingham Youth Award went to Oceana Night Club in Wolverhampton and Deansfield High School to create 'safe night out' workshops involving 1,000 pupils.

Paul Cooney of Jaguar Cars was named Arts & Business Individual of the Year for his Skills Bank project with Aston University Library & Information Services.

Les Ratcliffe, community relations manager at Jaguar Land Rover, said: "The arts bring so much diversity, quality and vibrancy to the West Midlands and it's vital that the business community continues to do its part to recognise these benefits, engage with the sector and support its future development."