SOME of the best businesses and entrepreneurs across North Hampshire were celebrated at this year’s Inspire Business Awards.

Winners of 11 categories were announced at a glittering ceremony at The Anvil in Basingstoke on Thursday, July 13.

The event saw leaders in the business community gather alongside civic representatives to celebrate the success of some of the area’s brilliant companies and innovators.

The ceremony was hosted by award-winning adventurer Jordan Wylie MBE – star of hit series Hunted and Celebrity Hunted – alongside Mark Jones from awards organiser Destination Basingstoke.

The winners of the 2022/23 Inspire Business Awards:

New Business of the Year – sponsored by TrustMark

Physical Balance

Director Joe Allnutt said: “It’s amazing, incredibly humbling. To have grown up in Basingstoke, I am massively proud of the town. To win an award in Basingstoke is just a homage to the team at Physical Balance, it is just amazing. I couldn’t be more proud of them and more happy about winning the award.”

Young Business Person of the Year – sponsored by Minuteman Press

Michaela Hamilton

Michaela said she was shocked to win, adding: “I read about the other finalists in my category and the other two were so deserving as well, so I’m really honoured to be selected as the winner."

Service Excellence – sponsored by Morr & Co Solicitors

Minerva Procurement Consultancy Services Ltd

Director Lorraine Ashover said: “It’s really overwhelming, I am genuinely very emotional. I wasn’t expecting to win and I’m just so pleased because my team genuinely do an incredible job every day and I’m so pleased to be able to take this back to the office and show them that the hard work that they put in every day is so worthwhile.”

Small Business of the Year – sponsored by RSM

Indigo Bakes

Founder Patrick Bowden said: “It’s blown us away, we are a small company and it means a lot to be recognised for what we do. The team is going to be blown away when they know what has happened.”

Entrepreneur of the Year – sponsored by Menzies

Farah Fonseca

Farah said: “I’m really happy to have won this award, I’ve been working on Fonseca Fitness for a very long time, so thank you everyone and I am very happy to be nominated and to have won this award.”

Environmental Responsibility – sponsored by Vitacress

The Typeface Group

Director Polly Buckland said: “Really pleased to have won the Environmental Responsibility award at the Inspire awards 2023. The whole team have worked together to work sustainably, it’s in the fabric of our business and I really need to say a special thank you to Rebecca Chivers, our sustainability lead, who has put her heart and soul into making sure we make the right decisions as a business.”

Business and Community – sponsored by Destination Basingstoke

Fortem Financial Management Limited

Director Kevin White said: “We are very proud and it is absolutely fantastic to be recognised for work with financial education.”

Director and operational manager Shannon White added: “We are so grateful and we are so proud of everyone that has entered all the categories, it’s just absolutely amazing.”

Diversity and Inclusion Champion – sponsored by Sovereign

Willows Coffee House

Owner Mary Stevens said: “It’s absolutely fabulous, amazing team, amazing customers, amazing members of the LGBT community, I can’t say enough about everybody. We accept everybody from any background, of any colour, orientation, we are a happy coffee shop.”

Wellbeing at Work – sponsored by Festival Place

Basingstoke College of Technology

Transition manager Helen Key said: “We are really pleased to win this award, the wellbeing of our students is really important for us, it is as important as their education, so we are really proud to win it.”

Employer of the Year – sponsored by Reality HR

ResourceIT Consulting

Account director Keri Chewter said: “We employ the best there is in the business and we treat them really well, so it is a combination of a great team working really well together..," People and culture manager Amy Methley continued: “and doing it for each other.”

They added that the team are “over the moon” to win the award.

Business of the Year (Over £1million turnover) – sponsored by Absolutely Offices

Phillips Law

Co-managing partner Max Hope said: “On behalf of everyone at Phillips Law, I can’t tell you how excited we are to win two awards, not just Business of the Year but also the Winner of Winners as well. We are incredibly privileged to have won both awards and very grateful to Destination Basingstoke and to our judges and all of the competitors, it was an incredibly strong line-up, so thank you to all the competitors.”

Winner of Winners

Winner - Phillips Law

Highly Commended - Michaela Hamilton and Physical Balance