Radius founder picks up top EY award
BILL Holmes, founder of Crewe-based Radius Payment Solutions, was named overall EY North of England Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 at a ceremony in Manchester last night.
Holmes, who also took home the International award, was described by the judges as having built a “remarkable business”, which he has grown from “a two man band to become an international market leader”.
The North West dominated the awards, with seven of the nine categories going to companies based in the region.
Crewe-based Radius provides fuel card solutions to business and commercial fleets. Founded nearly 25 years ago, the company now has more than 90,000 business customers globally and employs over 600 people.
Mr Holmes told TheBusinessDesk.com: “I’m really thankful to my business partner John Atkinson who died last year. He was the inspiration behind me starting up.”
Robert Crooks, partner and North of England Entrepreneur Of The Year Leader at EY, said: “Bill’s entrepreneurial spirit and competitive nature, alongside his focus on innovation and forming the best partnerships, have been the driving forces behind Radius’ phenomenal expansion story to date.
“Having grown from scratch to become one of the largest independent fuel card providers in the world, Radius is ideally positioned to accelerate its growth in existing and new overseas markets over the coming years.”
Held at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester, the awards dinner honoured nine business leaders across 10 categories. Each winner was judged and selected from 29 finalists leading 27 companies from across the North West, Yorkshire and North East. All of the North of England winners will go on to represent the region at the UK finals in October 2014.
Mr Crooks added: “Entrepreneurs form the foundations of our economy, so it’s important that we continue to support their ambitions and celebrate their successes. Rebalancing the economy back in favour of the regions outside of London and the South East will be critical in securing a recovery for the whole of the UK. With entrepreneurs like our finalists creating jobs and wealth right across the North, we can feel confident that this rebalancing will be achieved over the coming years.”
The winners
International – Bill Holmes of Crewe-based Radius Payment Solutions.
Emerging – Nitin Passi, of Manchester online retailer Missguided.
Consumer Products and Services – Tracy Mort MBE, of Stockport cosmetics group Grace Cole.
Manufacturing – Mottie Kessler, of chemical distribution firm 2M Holdings.
Technology – Mark Austin and Paul Kenyon, of Cheadle-based IT security firm Avecto.
Business Products and Services – Stephen Thorpe, of Blackpool medical devices firm CME Medical UK.
Turnaround – David Judge, of Manchester’s Cormar Carpets.
Private Equity – Jon Wright, of Leeds-based gym group Xercise4Less.
Social Enterprise – Paul McEldon, of the North East Business and Innovation Centre.
