A Teesside gaming studio that has seen phenomenal growth during the pandemic has been crowned North East company of the year after the business community came together once again for the region’s most popular event of its kind.
The grand final of the North East Business Awards marked a welcome return to face-to-face events for the region’s business community after last year’s virtual grand final, gathering in Hardwick Hall in Sedgefield to see Double Eleven Ltd take the top prize as well as three other trophies.
Since launching 12 years ago, the Middlesbrough video games developer and publisher has worked on some of the world’s biggest games companies and with global tech giants including Microsoft.
Read more: Find the full list of finalists here
The firm – which was this week selected for the latest Tech Nation Future Fifty cohort – recently opened a base in Malaysia and took on its 200th employee this year, doubling in size over a year after attracting world class talent.
Double Eleven’s vision is to leave a legacy for the next generation, as a new breed of games company that values its staff, who are joining from all over the world at a rapid rate.
The North East Company of the Year trophy was the last to be handed out on the night, with other winners on the night including Haskel, Sweetdreams, Mobile Mini and Haystack.
Double Eleven also took the innovation and technology award, the high growth and ambition award and Teesside company of the year
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It had been more than two years since the region’s business community had gathered in the familiar marquee, in which a small capacity crowd of 390 came together to find out the winners of the 13 trophies.
The ceremony, hosted by presenter Kirsten O’Brien, was opened by Graeme Whitfield, business and agenda editor for Reach North East and Yorkshire, who paid tribute to the region’s resilience since it was last gathered for the business awards.
He said: “It was customary for people like me to stand on this stage and talk about how the business community had shown resilience and ingenuity over the previous 12 months, and I rather wish we hadn’t. Because what this region did previously is nothing compared to the resilience, the grit and the determination we’ve all had to show over the last year-and-a-half to even be here today.
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“Given everything that happened, we did pause to consider whether we should go ahead with these awards at all. But the number of entries we received and the quality of them has shown that we were right to do so.
“As someone who read every single entry - and there were lots of them - I can testify that the companies here today prove that this region is alive and kicking, despite everything we’ve had to deal with in the last 18 months.
“It’s worth saying too that this hasn’t just been a period of survival. From Fujifilm Diosynth at Billingham to Glaxosmithkline at Barnard Castle, North East businesses are proving central to the 海角视频 vaccine deployment. And with recent developments at Britishvolt, Nissan and its battery partners Envision, the Dogger Bank wind farm base at the Port of Tyne, and GE on Teesside, the region is also at the forefront of the green agenda.”
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Guest speaker on the night was Jo Fairley, the founder of chocolate company Green and Blacks.
List of winners in full:
Newcomer of the Year, sponsored by Virgin Money: Haystack
Innovation and Technology Award, sponsored by Sage: Double Eleven Ltd
Company of the Year for Durham, Sunderland and South Tyneside, sponsored by Business Durham: Premier Roof Systems
Apprenticeships, Training and Skills Award, sponsored by Northern Skills Group: PD Ports
High Growth and Ambition Award, sponsored by FW Capital: Double Eleven Ltd
Company of the Year for Northumberland and Tyneside, sponsored by Newcastle City Council: AkzoNobel
Small Business Award, sponsored by Opportuni: Sweetdreams Ltd
Services Award, sponsored by Peacocks Medical Group: razorblue
Company of the Year for Teesside, sponsored by Tees Valley Busines: Double Eleven Ltd
Heart of the Community Award, sponsored by University of Sunderland: Middleton Grange Shopping Centre
Manufacturing Award, sponsored by Nifco: Haskel
Covid-19 Response Award, sponsored by North of Tyne Combined Authority: Mobile Mini
North East Company of the Year, sponsored by Newcastle University: Double Eleven Ltd