Chamber winners scoop regional business accolades

Hot on the heels of their success in the East Midlands Chamber’s* 2016 business awards, six Chamber members have gone on to win regional awards from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

Chesterfield-based Cathelco won the Excellence in International Trade accolade at East Midlands Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards on Friday night (16 September). It has also scooped the regional Export Business of the Year accolade in the BCC awards. Purpose Media, of South Normanton, which collected the Derbyshire Outstanding Growth Performance award on Friday night has won the BCC’s regional High Growth Business of the Year award. And Penny Hydraulics, also of Chesterfield, which won the Best Improvement through Technology award and was joint winner of East Midlands Chamber’s Business of the Year for Derbyshire has scooped the BCC’s Best Use of Technology prize.

The winner of East Midlands Chamber’s Leicestershire Excellence in Customer Service award, law firm Shakespeare Martineau, which were presented at a gala dinner in Leicester on Friday 2 September, is the regional winner of the BCC’s Excellence in Customer Service award. Accountancy firm Hayles Leicester, which has offices in Leicester and Nottingham, won the Leicestershire Employer of the Year award at the gala dinner at King Power Stadium and has since won the BCC’s regional Commitment to People Development award.

Nottingham’s Trent Academies Group, which won East Midlands Chamber’s Skills and Employability accolade for Nottingham, on 9 September, has won BCC’s Education and Business Partnership prize. The regional winners were all chosen from businesses which won awards in the East Midlands Chamber’s awards in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. There are other contenders from sister Chambers in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire.

The Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire winners are being invited to collect their winner’s certificates at the annual general meeting of East Midlands Chamber, at Derby’s iPro stadium, on 3 November. They will go on to represent the region at the BCC’s national awards, the winners of which will be announced on 24 November.

Scott Knowles, East Midlands Chamber’s Chief Executive, said: “Congratulations to all of the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire winners for going on to achieve further success in the BCC’s regional awards.

“Our three counties always gets a good showing at the BCC’s Awards because there are a lot of companies located here which are highly innovative and help to drive the regional and national economies. The Chamber awards are the only business awards in the region delivered purely by business for business and are also the only awards which offer the winners the chance to share their stories on the national stage. We wish all our winners the best of luck for as they go on to represent the East Midlands at the national awards.”