More Yorkshire firms celebrate high profile award wins

Three more Yorkshire businesses are celebrating after winning prestigious Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

They include Saltaire-based BTL Group, Leeds-headquartered Turner & Townsend and Selby-based GBUK Banana, a division of GBUK Group.

GBUK Banana specialises in patient moving and handling technology. It has been rewarded for its pioneering Versal system by being presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2020 in the Innovation category.

The Versal system helps reduce the hidden costs of pressure ulcers and musculoskeletal injury, such as back pain. Pressure ulcers can be life-threatening, while leading to disabilities and infections, as well as extended hospital stays.

Mark Thompson, CEO of GBUK Group, said: “This award is the culmination of many years of hard work by the GBUK team.

“The Queen’s Award is an internationally recognised accolade, and it an honour for us to be selected by Her Majesty The Queen in the Innovation Category.

“The award also also gives me a chance to thank the whole of our exceptional team – who have been pivotal in improving patient care by bringing our leading technology to market.”

For Turner & Townsend, this is the fourth time the global professional services business, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade.

Vincent Clancy

Having been recognised consecutively in 2003, 2009 and 2014, the 2020 award highlights the exceptional performance of the business and the strength of its client relationships over the last two decades.

Vincent Clancy, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “We are honoured, once again, to be recognised with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

“This achievement is the result of the outstanding contribution from everyone across the business, our continued commitment to service excellence and the long-standing relationships we have formed with our clients all across the world.”

“We are global in our outlook as a business and over the last two decades we’ve become one of world’s largest and most recognised independent professional services providers to the construction industry.”

BTL is an edtech provider which this year celebrates its 35th anniversary. It has also received the Enterprise in International Trade award.

Its SaaS assessment platform, Surpass, is used for the creation, delivery, marking and reporting of paper and computer-based tests and has delivered more than 25 million examinations around the world to date.

Company founder and chairman Dr Bob Gomersall, said: “The company was founded, has grown, and has remained in Yorkshire, and we are very proud that the technology we provide is used all over the world.

“It is great to think that assessment technology for many organisations around the world comes from Saltaire, Yorkshire.”

Sonya Whitworth, managing director of BTL’s UK head office, added: “I am extremely proud that BTL has been recognised with this award.

“We’ve built such a strong team here in Yorkshire, with a range of expertise, who even in this unprecedented situation with COVID-19, continue to work at full capacity to ensure our customers can continue delivering important assessments where possible.”

Now in its 54th year the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country showcasing firms’ contribution to International Trade, Innovation, Sustainable Development and Promoting Opportunity through Social Mobility.

BTL Group, Turner & Townsend and GBUK Banana, together with other companies from this region, will officially mark their achievements during a royal reception for Queen’s Awards’ winners in the summer at Buckingham Palace.