Midland firms battle it out in PLC Awards

A QUINTET of Midland businesses have been nominated as finalists in this year’s PLC Awards.

The firms will battle it out with 19 other companies from around the UK to land one of the prestigious awards.

Several of the other finalists also have major interests in the region.

Wolverhampton-based civil engineer Carillion is nominated in the Achievement in Sustainability category, while computer games group Games Workshop is named in the Turnaround of the Year section.

Walsall-based Homeserve chief executive Richard Harpin is one of four businessmen battling it out to be Entrepreneur of the Year. His competition includes Joep van Beurden, of CSR, Mark Dixon, of Regus, and Tim Martin, of J D Wetherspoon.

Domino’s Pizza and Dunelm will be battling it out with Chemring and Morthercare in the Company of the Year category.

The PLC Awards, now in their 22nd year, will be presented at a high-profile gala dinner attended by 1,350 guests in London on Thursday March 11.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is sponsoring the awards,  which recognise excellence in the smaller quoted company sector.

Keith Harrington, head of assurance and PLC expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Midlands, said: “Companies in the Midlands deserve huge recognition as they negotiate these challenging economic conditions. The PLC Awards provide a welcome opportunity to celebrate their achievements.”

The short-list in full is as follows:

Best Investor Communication Award, sponsored by Redleaf Communications, comprises: Britvic, McBride, MITIE Group and Stobart Group.

Achievement in Sustainability, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, comprises: AEA Technology, Carillion, Marshalls and RM.

Turnaround of the Year Award, sponsored by Shore Capital, comprises: Galiform, Games Workshop, Renishaw and Volex Group.

Best Technology Award, sponsored by Singer Capital Markets, comprises: ARM Holdings, Imagination Technologies Group, Pace and Vectura Group.

Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Evolution Securities, comprises: Joep van Beurden, Richard Harpin, Mark Dixon and Tim Martin.

Company of the Year, sponsored by College Hill Associates, comprises: Chemring, Domino’s Pizza, Dunelm Group and Mothercare.