THE Inspire Business Awards took place on Thursday night, with businesses from across north Hampshire celebrating the winners.
Held at the Hampshire Court Hotel, Chineham, the award ceremony celebrated the best of business success in north Hampshire with over 500 businesspeople attending.
The annual awards programme, which is organised by Destination Basingstoke on behalf of sponsoring partners, received a record-breaking number of entries over the summer, which were then shortlisted and the finalists visited by the judging panel during September and October heightening the anticipation for the announcements made at the ceremony.
Winners and finalists came from all parts of north Hampshire from Basingstoke to Aldershot and everywhere in between to see the gongs dished out.
The evening was compered by Felicity Edwards, managing director of Destination Basingstoke, with Tommy Gentleman, the owner of Andover-based Reasons Fitness and a past winner of an INSPIRE Award.
Felicity said: “It has been a fantastic celebration of our business community and demonstrates very clearly that north Hampshire is a great place for business to thrive.
“Congratulations to all our winners and finalists.”
The list of winners and nominees for the 13 awards are as follows:
New Business of the Year Award
Winner: Cahn Property Solutions
Sponsored by: B2B Expos
Runners Up:
- Funk & Twist Fitness
- Wedition
Business and the Community Award
Winner: Clarke & Son
Sponsored by: Gazette Newspapers
Runners Up:
- Sovereign Housing
- Unum
- Classic Race Simulators
Family Business of the Year
Winner: Woodland and Hill Brow
Sponsored by: Brackenwood Windows
Runners Up:
- Rawlings Transport
- Planned Lighting Maintenance
Apprentice of the Year
Winner: Calan Kenward – LG Motion
Sponsored by: The University of Winchester
Runners Up:
- Lewis Hall – Pharmahouse
- Emily Buckley – Rural Fringe
Young Business Person of the Year
Winner: Matthew Larcome
Sponsored by: Minuteman Press
Runners Up:
Farah Fonseca
Jade Binsted
Service Excellence Award
Winner: Hair Beauty and Barber Studio
Sponsored by: Vitacress
Runners Up:
- ACC UK
- Reality HR
Small Business of the Year
Winner: Pharmahouse
Sponsored by: Breeze FM
Runners Up:
- Festival Street Kitchen
- Webkick
Entrepreneur of the Year
Winner: Joanna Jensen
Sponsored by: Inchora
Runners Up:
- Nick Thompson – DCSL Software
- Neil Rider – Serious Sport
Innovation of the Year Award
Winner: Razorsecure
Sponsored by: Festival Place
Runners Up:
- Loma Systems
- Basingstoke College of Technology
International Business of the Year
Winner: Driven International
Sponsored by Fluor
Runners Up:
- Juniper Research
- Exclaimer
Employer of the Year
Winner: Tempcover
Sponsored by HR Dept.
Runners Up:
- Hawk-Eye Innovations
- Jargon PR
Female Achiever of the Year
Winner : Leah Mathias-Collins from Vitacress
Sponsored by Willmot Dixon
Runners Up:
- Sally Ann Hall Jones – Reality HR
- Sophie Cranston - Libelula
Business of the Year
Winner : DCSL Software
Sponsored by Herrington Carmichael
Runners Up:
- Jargon PR
- Childs Farm
For a full write-up of the awards, including interviews with each of the winners, see next week’s Gazette.
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