While it was, as usual, a sparkling event at which the business community came together to celebrate its successes, this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards (NBEAs) provided an exciting reminder of what can be done to make the world a better place.
Innovation, sustainability and an increasing focus on maximising the resources at our disposal – natural or man-made – turned out to be a running theme of the evening, with winners who’ve transformed some of the county’s most iconic buildings, to those working hard to ensure processes are more efficient, user-friendly or environmentally friendly.
Hosting the evening, the biggest NBEAs yet, was comedian Rob Beckett, who was joined at the County Ground, home of Northamptonshire Cricket Club, by the finalists and sponsors and their guests to celebrate the best the county has to offer.
Two key developments in Northampton were among the winners. Vulcan Works, which offers lettable office space, workshops, meeting rooms and co-working spaces for creative and digital businesses took the Innovation Award, recognising the transformation of the Grade II listed former ironworks by West Northamptonshire Council, SEMLEP and the European Regional Development Fund.
Another historic building, 78 Derngate, the only building outside Scotland to have been designed by the renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh took the Land and Development Award – another project that saw West Northamptonshire Council and SEMLEP jointly funding the work.
Garrick Hurter, Centre Manager at Vulcan Works, said:
“This is a major achievement for everything we have accomplished so far and we’re looking forward to what 2024 will bring, and what that will produce for our customers and for the county. The awards have been an amazing experience, the way they’ve been run and what this means to Northampton and the wider region and what it means to the businesses here. We feel very privileged to win against such good competition.”
Innovative thinking was celebrated in a handful of awards: Hunsbury Homes, a cleaning firm that has devised a client-centric charging approach was named New Business of the Year; while accountancy firm Moore won Marketing Campaign of the Year for its podcast, which aims to give clients access to information in easy-to-understand bite-sized chunks. Staysure’s wide and specialised range of insurance products, as well as its focus on the wellbeing of its employees, led to the company being named BIG Business of the Year.
Among the rest of the winners were Businesswoman of the Year, Rachel Rowley, from Encore Environmental, who has implemented value-led practices that help
construction contractors improve their waste management strategies.
After accepting her award, Rachel said:
“I never in a million years thought I’d win. There are some great young women in there today and hats off to them. We’re all on a journey together and these young ladies are amazing, so I never thought I’d be getting this award tonight.
“I just want to continue to make a difference. I look at my team now and I’m so proud, they are starting to deliver what I set out to achieve, and the world is our oyster.”
iOTA Interiors, a company that offers office furniture and design, including a range made from recycled and recyclable materials such as plastic bottles and hemp, took the Sustainability Award; and The Green Patch, a community green space in Kettering run by Groundwork Northamptonshire, took the Community Project or Person of the Year Award.
The evening had opened with a special award for Northampton Saints star Courtney Lawes, who recently retired from international rugby.
On being presented with the Northamptonshire ICON Award, Courtney said:
“Being able to represent Northampton internationally and domestically over the years had been a true honour for me. To be able to represent this town means the world to me and so receiving this award is incredibly humbling. No one gets to where they are going on their own, it takes a support network and I’ve had so many people to thank for that over the years. Northampton is the place I call home, and I think it will be forever.”
The final award of the evening was the Contribution to Northamptonshire Award, which this year went to Rachel Mallows MBE DL, founder of The Mallows Company and the driving force behind the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards and the Made in Northamptonshire scheme.
Rachel said:
“I’m over the moon, this is a real surprise and it’s knocked me for six. But I also accept this on behalf of all the food and drink producers we have in this county and I want to take this opportunity to remind people to Buy Local.”
Ben Thomas, Managing Director of All Things Business, organisers of the NBEAs, said:
“I want to thank everyone who made this night special; Rob Beckett, who was an amazing host, and all the sponsors because without their support none of this can happen.
“We talk a lot about the business community, but that’s exactly what this is, a community that works together and supports one another, and comes together on an evening like this to celebrate not only their own successes but those of the other businesses and organisations in this fantastic county.”
To find out more about the Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards, click here.
The full list of winners
Northamptonshire ICON Award
Courtney Lawes
Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Moulton College
Abi Almond – J Sweeney Accountants
New Business of the Year – Sponsored by Bechtle
Land and Development Award – Sponsored by Moore
Innovation Award – Sponsored by University of Northampton
Community Project or Person of the Year – Sponsored by dbfb
The Green Patch – Groundwork Northamptonshire
Employer of the Year – Sponsored by The Grosvenor Group
Marketing Campaign of the Year – Sponsored by Reed
Legal Firm of the Year – Sponsored by ACS Staffing Solutions
Food & Drink Award – Sponsored by SH Pratt Group
Accountancy Firm of the Year – Sponsored by Franklins Solicitors
Businesswoman of the Year – Sponsored by Clear Insurance Group
Rachel Rowley – Encore Environment
Businessman of the Year – Sponsored by Mooncomputers
Sustainability Award – Sponsored by Medigold Health
Business of the Year – Sponsored by HR Solutions UK
BIG Business of the Year – Sponsored by MHA
Contribution to Northamptonshire Award
