Hereford companies bid for national business awards

TWO Hereford companies named the best in the West Midlands are in the running for prestigious national awards.

Peter Prosser Hairdressing Ltd and the Philip Morris & Son department store are both members of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce.

Peter Prosser, which operates three salons, picked up the West Midlands Award for Excellence in People Development, while the department store was named as Business of the Year in the chamber’s business awards earlier this year.

Both have now gone forward to battle it out for national honours in the finals of the British Chambers of Commerce’s Chamber Awards 2010, which take place later this month.

Neville Reyner, President of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “We’ve been delighted with the consistently high standard of confident companies out there that have been flying the flag for British business, despite the uncertain times we find ourselves in.

“These strong businesses have demonstrated that they are thriving – and they’re doing this through innovation, hard work and determination to succeed at the highest level.

“These awards have revealed some good news for the British economy – which is good news for us all.”

Peter Prosser Hairdressing employs 53 full and part-time staff in the area and was noted for its state of the art salon and training centre in Commercial Road.

Philip Morris & Son, a 165 year old department store, has managed to increase profits and turnover throughout the recession and now has more than 20,000 customers using its online shop for everything from bed linen to shooting accessories.

Having won regional awards, the two are now in the running for the national award in their category, as well as the chance to collect the Award for Outstanding Business Achievement – with a top prize of £25,000 and runners up prizes of £15,000 and £10,000.

There are eight categories, backed by high profile sponsors including BT, RBS and NatWest, Staples, Dell, CIPD, AXA PPP healthcare and Base.

The national winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Hurlingham Club on November 25.