Last chance to get your Business Masters tickets by 2pm today

The North West Business masters Awards 2017 will be taking place at the Midland Hotel, Manchester this coming Thursday and today is your last chance to  reserve your tickets for this prestigious event.

Booking for the awards, hosted by BBC political editor for the North West Nina Warhurst, will close at 2pm today.

The awards, supported by lead sponsor Manchester Metropolitan University, will celebrate excellence in enterprise and entrepreneurship across the region.

Tables and tickets can be booked online here

Ahead of the event, we take one final look at the worthy shortlisted companies in each category:

Innovation

Cundall

Established in the UK 40 years ago, Manchester-based Cundall has developed into an international multi-disciplinary consultancy operating from over 20 locations across the globe. Last year saw the launch of Cundall Virtual Acoustic Reality, developed to aid property developers, owners and agents in picking the most appropriate acoustic treatment to their building.

Evoke Creative

Wirral-based Evoke Creative designs and manufactures interactive digital kiosks and signage. Its 56 staff design digital products for clients including JD Sports, Debenhams, Google and McDonald’s. The company is in the process of planning a move to a new, 450,000 sq ft HQ in the region as part of its continued expansion.

Hello Soda

Hello Soda is an international big data and text analytics business headquartered in Manchester. Founded in 2013, it has built a suite of multilingual software solutions which are now used by more than 70 clients across five continents. Its products derive meaning from alternative unstructured data sources to enable consumers to access more personalised user experiences and businesses to boost inclusion, reduce fraud and improve the customer journey. The past year has seen Hello Soda triple its turnover, launch operations in Bangkok and Austin, and more than double headcount to 38.

JMW Solicitors

JMW’s commercial teams have two core client bases: entrepreneurs and sports stars. It launched an online platform last May which allows entrepreneurs to upload information about their business, with sports stars then able to decide if they want to invest or become a brand ambassador. In just six months, the firm received more than 45 instructions.

Ziferblat

Workspace provider Ziferblat offers pay per minute sitting room, events, co-working and meeting rooms. The company, which employs 54 staff, aims to open 50 branches across the UK and Ireland in the next five years by reinvesting profits into growth. Currently, six units are under offer for new sites in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.

 

International Trade

Crawford Healthcare

Crawford Healthcare is a leading international advanced wound care and dermatology business based in Knutsford, developing innovative wound dressings and treatments. The group develops and manufactures its product portfolio in the North West, exporting to more than 20 global markets including subsidiaries in the US and EU. As a privately-owned group, it is now the UK’s fastest-growing advanced wound care business, outstripping major international competitors.

IFB2016

The International Festival for Business 2016 (IFB2016) was one of the largest business events staged in the UK in 2016. The main purpose is to provide a global business-to-business networking platform for UK businesses, to support and facilitate their competitiveness and success in international trade and investment markets, and increase overall UK productivity and prosperity.

Lattimer

Lattimer is a globally renowned precision machinist. It designs and manufactures more than 20,000 different component parts predominantly for the glass container manufacturing industry. Group turnover stands at around £11m and Lattimer’s largest overseas markets include Australasia, the Middle East and Africa.

SAMBRO

SAMBRO is one of the UK’s largest licensed toy manufacturers with headquarters in Bury and expansive showrooms and offices in Amsterdam and Hong Kong. SAMBRO works with some of the world’s leading licensing companies including Disney, Nickelodeon, Hasbro, MGA and Universal and creates licensed toy ranges.

Vision Support Services

Vision Support Services is a leading supplier and distributor of luxury, performance and specialist textiles to the global accommodation, healthcare and retail markets. Vision now has 6,500 customers in 84 countries across five continents, including more than half the world’s ten biggest hotel chains.

 

Contributing to the Community

Angel Solutions

Liverpool-based educational software company Angel Solutions provide a range of online services. The company allows other businesses to launch and incubate from its premises, so they can freely use its office space, mentoring and even sponsorship. Last year saw three businesses – Innovators Hub, LaunchCode and Vandie Studios – all operate from within Angel Solutions.

EY Foundation

EY’s Smart Futures programme is one example of the EY Foundation’s work in the North West. It offers students the opportunity to get three weeks’ paid work experience in the EY offices, gaining transferable skills that will give them a head start in their career. Meanwhile, the North West Accelerate programme, run by EY for young entrepreneurs, provides business support with business coaches, workshops, networking and project support.

Smart Storage

Altrincham-based Smart Storage runs an annual nine-week Christmas Toy Appeal campaign, which collects and distributes around 10,000 donated toys to children’s charities in the North West. The appeal involves local businesses and personalities to help increase awareness year on year.

Tunafish Media

Tunafish Media, a Manchester-based content marketing and media production agency, donated 1% equity to local community charity Forever Manchester. The company also runs a twice weekly homeless soup kitchen in Manchester City Centre called ‘Not Just Soup’, which sees restaurants provide food to homeless people.

UKFast

Cloud hosting firm UKFast has dedicated fundraising days for Wear it Pink, Children in Need and Comic Relief. It works closely with the charity Cash for Kids, which raises a pool of funds for the children who need it most across Greater Manchester. UKFast is also been a partner with the Dean Trust, working with more than 57,000 pupils across the country. The company runs code clubs, workshops and away days in a bid to build IT curriculum.

 

Professional Services

CVS

Business rent and rates specialist CVS has been providing property advice to occupiers of commercial premises for more than 17 years. The Manchester-based company, which employs 160 staff, has helped clients realise savings of over £700m. Key clients include Aston Martin, Paperchase, The National Gallery and The Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Dow Schofield Watts

Dow Schofield Watts has grown steadily and has developed into a ‘Big Four challenger’ in the provision of corporate finance and financial due diligence services across the North. The team has completed 187 deals with a combined value of £3.7bn.

Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton employs around 470 people in Liverpool and Manchester. It has moved away from the traditional partner-owned and run structure which still dominates professional services. The goal of the shared enterprise model is to retain staff by creating an environment in which everyone thinks and acts like an owner of the business.

Kuits Solicitors

Kuits Solicitors began trading in 1911 and today has around 200 staff, solely based in Manchester. The firm has carved out a name for itself specialising in the leisure and hospitality sector, as well as working on some of the big development deals in Manchester. In February, Kuits took on an additional office in Blackfriars House, Parsonage, to support its continued growth.

Seneca Partners

Established in 2010, Seneca Partners has more than 60 staff in five locations, with more than £400m of assets under management, while debt advisory has recovered over £100m for clients to date. Seneca is targeting £500m of assets under management by the end of 2017, and, longer-term expects that figure to reach £1bn by 2020.

 

SME Business

Beech Holdings

Stephen Beech, founder of Beech Holdings, began his property career in 2001 with the purchase of his first buy-to-let property in Manchester. Beech Holdings now owns £72m of residential housing stock in Greater Manchester and currently has a gross development pipeline of £100m.

East Coast Concepts

Manchester-born James Hitchen is managing director of East Coast Concepts – the restaurant group that hit the £6.5m turnover mark last year. He worked in some of the UK’s most well-known restaurant chains to gain experience and commercial know-how before launching Neighbourhood in Spinningfields in 2009, bringing vibrant American food concepts to Manchester, before launching in Liverpool last year.

Pochins

Founded in 1934 as a small joinery business in Manchester by Cedric Pochin, Pochin’s has grown over 80 years to become synonymous with North West construction. The leadership of CEO Jim Nicholson, grandson of the founder, has been key to the business’ success. He restructured the business to operate as one cohesive unit and has implemented a modernised company culture programme for its 160 employees.

Smart Storage

Smart Storage was founded on the Wirral in 2004.  The next four years saw a period of growth as Smart opened five self-storage facilities across the North West. 2015 saw the acquisition of two properties in Liverpool and Altrincham, as well as the start of a new drive-up self-storage concept in Widnes. Since then occupancy across the group has risen by 46%.

Vision Support Services

Vision Support Services is a supplier and distributor of luxury, performance and specialist textiles to the global accommodation, healthcare and retail markets. Vision now has 6,500 customers in 84 countries across five continents, including more than half the world’s ten biggest hotel chains.

 

Large Business

Abbey Logistics Group

Liverpool-based Abbey Logistics Group achieved record sales of £57m last year. The business employs over 600 staff, operating from nine UK sites including Liverpool, Manchester and London. Abbey has gone from being a niche liquid food logistics provider to becoming the UK’s largest food ingredients logistics company as well as diversifying into markets such as construction materials, minerals and non-hazardous products.

Bright Blue Foods

Bright Blue Foods, headquartered in Blackburn, makes own brand and licensed brand cakes and pastries for the likes of Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Asda. The company employs more than 1,000 people at four sites, three in the UK and one in Poland. In 2015 it made 158 million fairy cakes; produced 198,000 tray bakes, which is enough cake to cover all 382 pitches of UK football league clubs four times over. The £60m turnover business has undergone a dramatic upturn in its fortunes since September 2015 when it was suffering severe financial stress before being acquired by private equity firm Endless.

The Delivery Group

With a turnover exceeding £200m, The Delivery Group has evolved from its Secured Mail base to combine the experience and resources of two complementary post and parcel businesses: CMS Network and P2P. Backed by private equity firm Next Waver Partners, it employs more than 500 staff in Warrington, central London, Luton, Basildon and Heathrow and works with clients ranging from ASOS and The Hut Group to Morgan Stanley and Deutschebank.

 

Newcomer

Businesscomparison.com

Chester-based businesscomparison.com was launched in April 2015. The site specialises in helping SMEs make money-saving decisions. The company, which has eight staff, has had more than 360,000 users this year and it aims to have helped 50% of SMEs in the UK in the next three years.

Gorilla Accounting

Accountancy services provider Gorilla Accounting, based in Bolton, launched last year to offer a technology driven accountancy solution to suit the needs of the UK’s flexible workforce. The company, which has a workforce of 30, offers users unlimited support with expert contractor accountants, access to an online bookkeeping tool, face-to-face meetings, emails, telephone and Skype video-conferencing.

Strategic Analytics

Manchester-based Strategic Analytics started trading in April last year to help businesses link their logistics technologies together to give them an integrated solution. Forecasting a turnover of £5m this year, the business has expanded quickly with its senior partners based in India, Oman, Paris, UK and Canada.

Watch This Space

Property regeneration, commercial and residential property landlord Watch This Space was launched in March 2016. Developments during the business’ first year have included projects such as the off-market purchase and full refurbishment of 31-33 Princess Street in Manchester city centre, and the launch of the UK’S first property co-work space That Space.

Ziferblat

Workspace provider Ziferblat offers pay per minute sitting room, events, co-working and meeting rooms. The company’s core concept is a communal sitting room where guests are welcome to work relax, study and treat it like home. The company, which employs 54 staff, aims to open 50 branches across the UK and Ireland in the next five years by reinvesting profits into growth.

 

Employer of the Year

Angel Solutions

Liverpool-based educational software company Angel Solutions provides online services for schools and local authorities. At Angel Solutions, nobody works on their birthday, every employee earns a little more every month, and no one works over Christmas. The firm shares all of its financial information openly with staff and ‘innovation days’ allow every staff member the freedom to work on whatever they want.

Beech Holdings

Manchester-based property developer Beech Holdings embraces employees’ desires to pursue aspirational training and supports professional memberships and qualifications with mentoring, financial assistance with fees and paid study time. Staff benefits include additional holidays linked to service and flexible working arrangements to assist work life balance.

Brother UK

Brother UK has reinvented itself as an employer, including adjusting how it manages, motivates and rewards its people. Some of the changes that have made a big impact include: ‘kinetic working’, allowing people to work across different departments and teams; an internal peer-to-peer recognition programme with financial incentives and coffee mornings with MD Phil Jones to ensure employees feel engaged and consulted about the big decisions in the business.

Freight First

Runcorn-based Freight First has more than 30 HGV vehicles, 45 employees and 40,000 sq ft of warehousing space. The company has recently invested in a gym and games room, while staff are rewarded for achievements at weekly meetings. It also uses an employee engagement platform that lets employees send praise to their colleagues.

Woods Squared

Accountancy firm Woods Squared, based in Birkenhead, offers training and development to its team of eight staff members. The firm’s two-stage recruitment process includes meeting the whole team – something it says is crucial as it allows the new recruit to ask any question and allows the team to see if they think the potential new employee would be a good fit.

 

Fast Growth  Business

Abbey Logistics Group

In 2016 alone, Abbey achieved 22% revenue growth thanks to its largest contract win together with a number of smaller contracts. The company has also opened a 140,000 sq ft warehousing and distribution operation in Bromborough to give customers added services that add significant value to their businesses.

Barber Barber UK

Barber Barber UK was launched in 2013. The business plans to grow the brand throughout the United Kingdom with turnover expected to reach £7m in 2017. The business is also to open its first training school in Liverpool and a line of Barber Barber UK product lines are in development.

Dual-Stream

CCTV and security specialist Dual-Stream started trading in 2013. Based in Oldham, the business has achieved rapid growth celebrating a record year in 2016 with a turnover of £3.6m and nine staff being recruited. Services it has added include remote security management and anti-terrorism crash barriers, while it has built an enviable client base, including Morrisons and Liverpool Football Club.

Love Energy Savings

Love Energy Savings received £4.5m of investment by NVM Private Equity in 2014 which is being used to fund its ambitious expansion strategy. 2016 saw the business put plans in place to offer energy price comparison to large energy users. Staff headcount has increased from 79 to 133 in the last 12 months, with plans for future growth already in action as its brings its outsourced services in house.

The Delivery Group

With a turnover exceeding £200m, The Delivery Group is one of the UK’s fastest growing specialist distribution companies. Based in Warrington, the group employs more than 500 staff across the UK. The company works in partnership with more than 600 clients ranging from ASOS and The Hut Group and Deutsche bank.

 

For more details about this black-tie dinner and awards, including table or individual place bookings, please use the following link:

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