Video Report: Yorkshire Business Masters reveal innovation is key to success

THE need to innovate in order to plan for growth was one of the key messages revealed by business leaders at the inaugural TheBusinessDesk.com Yorkshire Business Masters.

Presenting the awards at the prestigious event David Parkin, Editor of TheBusinessDesk.com, said there was an “underlying confidence” among the business community despite the “tough times” the economy had faced in recent years.

Mr Parkin told the 200-strong audience, made up of business owners from some of the region’s best known companies, as well as senior professionals from leading law firms, banks and accountancy practices, that competition in the five Yorkshire Business Masters categories had been “absolutely incredible”.

“There were literally thousands of votes and we were delighted for that support,” Mr Parkin said of the voting process which saw readers vote on TheBusinessDesk.com for their winning entry in each shortlisted category.

TheBusinessDesk.com’s Yorkshire Business Masters were sponsored by accountancy firm KPMG, law firms Gordons and Walker Morris, official tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire and peer support organisation The Alternative Board.

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Yorkshire Newcomer – Recognising the best new business initiative in the region

Helen West, chief executive of Business Link, and one of the senior business figures who made up the judging panel which drew up each shortlist from the dozens of entries, said it was the “special something” the judges had been looking for “in terms of focus and dedication”.

Winner Tom Acland, of mobile gourmet coffee retailer Cafe2U, said the company aimed to grow from its present 54 franchisees to 350 over the next four years.

Mr Acland, who brought the concept over from Australia, said the company had “taken coffee to the worker” and that that had been a simple but effective strategy.

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Shorlisted entrant Justin Whitston is investing cash from the sale of his business into a new idea called Venturelab which will back small growing Yorkshire firms.

Mr Whitston told the audience: “We want to back people with ideas. It’s all about providing a platform for people with ideas to come forward and we’re giving them a platform to be a success. We want to create something unique, create success and create wealth.”

Sean Scott, of Vuba Group, the other shortlisted entrant in the category, said being made redundant form his previous job had given him the chance to set up his own business. The 22-year-old has established Vuba, which sells industrial flooring products through a catalogue and on online and Mr Scott said the firm had made a confident start.

Presenting the award Paul Dickinson, of category sponsor TAB, said it was important to give promising ventures support to help them succeed.

Yorkshire Innovator – Recognising the most creative or original business thinking

Ajaz Ahmed, one of the founders of internet service provider Freeserve who judged the Innovator category, sponsored by law firm Walker Morris, said Yorkshire had a “great history of innovation” and that had been reflected in the shortlist.

Winner Graham Bowland, managing director of Leeds-based surgical devices designer and manufacturer Surgical Innovations, said the award was a reflection of his team’s hard work.

Mr Bowland described Surgical Innovations as “the Gillette of the medical devices world”.

He said on a recent visit to the company’s headquarters, Prime Minister David Cameron had been “astounded” by the innovation on show.

Tom Hainsworth, of Yorkshire textile firm Hainsworth, another of the shortlisted individuals in the category, said it had never been more important for the historic family firm, which has clients ranging from Rolls Royce to the Royal Family, to innovate at present.

He said: “The textile business has been declining as a manufacuring industry in the UK so as a business we’ve got to be thinking about the next big thing. Innovation is the essence of where we see ourselves as a business.”

The company’s latest product as a woollen coffin.

Dick Cardis, of industrial laundry equipment supplier JLA, could not attend the awards.

Presenting the award, Ian Gilbert, managing partner of Walker Morris, said innovation was “a sexy word for improvement”.