TOP businesses stepped into the spotlight at the glittering trophy presentation ceremony for the 10th annual Spirit of Enterprise Awards, the biggest and most prestigious annual celebration of business excellence in the Great Yarmouth borough.
The Spirit of Enterprise Awards is organised by enterpriseGY, Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s business support service, and aims to boost confidence in the local economy by recognising top-performing firms.
The ceremony, held in the Town Hall’s grand Assembly Room on Friday, saw energy sector businesses 3sun Group crowned as Great Yarmouth Business of the Decade, a special stand-alone award introduced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the awards scheme. This was sponsored by facilities management and services group Norse, GYB Services and GYN Asset Management Services.
Meanwhile, boat-building and repairs firm Goodchild Marine Services was announced in front of the 220 guests as Great Yarmouth’s 2017 Business of the Year, having been chosen from the winners of the other categories by award sponsor Stephenson Smart, chartered accountants and business advisors.
Special crystal trophies were also presented to the winners of the various categories. The shortlisted finalists spanned a wide diversity of sectors, including energy, hair and beauty, financial, tourism and hospitality, retail, recruitment and education.
The awards scheme had nine categories and saw more than 100 entries this year, a new record. The shortlisting panel included independent judges from the business community, who supported the sponsors in the judging process. Rob Chandler, of The Beach, hosted the awards evening, and the guest speaker was Galton Blackiston, the restaurateur and TV chef.
Graham Hacon, chief executive of 3sun Group, which is based in Southtown, said: “We were delighted to be recognised as Business of the Decade in the year we celebrated our own 10th anniversary. When my wife, Leonie, and I started the business in 2007 in our home town, focusing on oil and gas, we could have never envisaged that, a decade on, we would be employing nearly 400 people with 85 per cent of our business in renewables across the UK and northern Europe, with offshore wind growing so fast, offering real skilled opportunities for local people.
“Seeing turbine towers dominating Great Yarmouth’s skyline, built by our team of local people at the pre-assembly site at the Outer Harbour, was a hugely proud moment in our 10th year. A business is only as good as its people. 3sun Group is all about its people, from our apprentices to our directors, as we’ve tried to maintain a family feel about all we do. This is just the start of the 3sun Group story and its contribution to the commercial life of Great Yarmouth, and we are very grateful for this recognition.”
Alan Goodchild, managing director of Goodchild Marine Services, based at Burgh Castle, said: “We were thrilled to win the Great Business Idea category, so to then be named Business of the Year on top of that was just fantastic.
“The awards are the culmination of a great year for us. We have secured some major new contracts, explored new innovations and we are currently recruiting for up to eight new members of staff.
“Next year we celebrate our 40th anniversary and we feel our success reflects the dedication of our skilled staff and the strong business relationships we have built with clients. We are very much part of the community and it is so rewarding to be recognised by the community in this way.”
Cllr Graham Plant, the council leader, and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, the Labour group leader, attended on the evening.
Cllr Plant said: “Once again we have been hugely impressed by the many excellent businesses of different sizes and sectors, right across our enterprising borough, who are ambassadors for the strength of the local economy. By celebrating these achievements, we are championing investor confidence, job-creation and growth.
“The Spirit of Enterprise Awards, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, is now very much a mature awards scheme and this is reflected by the sheer diversity and number of entries. I would like to congratulate all of the shortlisted finalists, category winners and overall winners, as well as pay tribute to the sponsors, including main sponsors Stephenson Smart and Norse.”
The shortlisted finalists were (winners highlighted in bold):
- Great Manufacturing/Engineering – ABC Diesels Ltd, Gee Force Hydraulics, Pharos Marine
- Great New Business – Bellyboos Candy Store, Gentlemen’s HQ, Quay Pride
- Great Business Growth – Camplings Linen, CSS Cloud Ltd, Gee Force Hydraulics
- Great Business Idea – Colmans Pet Foods, Fusion Hair & Beauty, Goodchild Marine Services
- Great Customer Services – Imperial Hotel GY, Mocha, P&S Personnel Ltd
- Great Family Owned Business – GY Ceilings, Palmers, Sara’s Tearooms
- Great International Growth – Ninchar Offshore Recruitment, Simmons Edeco Europe Ltd, Smart eLearning Ltd
- Great Investment in People – East Coast Energy Partnership, Pharos Marine Auto Power, Stephenson Smart
- Great Community Contribution – Arthur Jary & Sons Ltd, Fusion Hair and Beauty, Twinkle Twinkle Little Party
- Business of the Decade – 3sun Group, Goodchild Marine Services, Great Yarmouth Ceilings
- Business of the Year – Goodchild Marine Services
The category sponsors were:
- Great Manufacturing/Engineering – sponsored by Goodchild Marine Services
- Great New Business – sponsored by Noritake Itron
- Great Business Growth – sponsored by Bateman Groundworks
- Great Business Idea – sponsored by Seahorse Guest House
- Great Customer Services – sponsored by Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area Ltd (GYTABIA)
- Great Family Owned Business – sponsored by Birketts
- Great International Growth – sponsored by Pasta Foods
- Great Investment in People – sponsored by P&S Personnel
- Great Community Contribution – sponsored by Potters Friends Foundation
Overall award and sponsor:
- Business of the Year – sponsored by Stephenson Smart
Anniversary award and sponsor:
- Business of the Decade – sponsored by Norse, GYB Services and GYN Asset Management Services
Media sponsors
- Great Yarmouth Mercury and The Beach
