It's amazing to see businesses and organisations able to reopen their doors and get back to trading.
Whatever happens, there is no doubt that we will always remember the hard work and dedication that our business industry has put in to support our economy and help our communities throughout these difficult times.
Join us on Thursday, June 17 as we celebrate this remarkable work at the , which this year will be virtual. You'll be able to catch up and congratulate through The Awards Room's special chat service. Tickets are free of charge, with available at the start of June.
The is headline sponsored by, a faculty within that nurtures and develops new talent and innovation right here in our region.
Tim Nichol, Pro-Vice Chancellor at Liverpool John Moore's University, said: "We are a headline sponsor for this event because we wish to celebrate success within the region.
"The event identifies a huge amount of creativity and innovation right across the sector and, particularly in these challenging times, the resilience of businesses that has been extraordinary. We wish to therefore showcase that success".
The finalists for the are:
Start-Up Business of the Year
Devtropolis is a software development company based in the heart of Liverpool, which has tripled its staff in the past 10 months. Its mission is to develop technology solutions that allows businesses to move online, realise the huge benefits of using technology and eradicate the use of paperwork.
Wilderness Hair is a unique, herbalist hair brand that offers organic, cruelty-free, handmade products, alongside a pioneering vegan salon. Clients learn about their hair, how to make products at home, learn what’s in season and forage for their own ingredients. Due to the demand for founder Louise Kind's groundbreaking and educational approach, she is currently sourcing a larger city centre location.
Virtuopo is an innovative livestreaming company which specialises in delivering a wide range of virtual events from large scale global conferences, award ceremonies and webinars to town hall meetings, AGMs and round table discussions. Launched in response to the growing demand for virtual events during the pandemic, it has seen remarkable growth and facilitates many technical adaptations like multi-camera visuals and translators for the many global livestreams that take place.
Business of the Year (up to 49 employees)
CAL International is a privately owned company specialising in engineering design solutions covering a range of sectors. It delivers innovative and cost effective solutions from pure mechanical engineering to complex multi-system integrations. Services include nuclear engineering, MedTech, finite element analysis and more.
Pinch of Salts is a below-the-line marketing agency that provides a bespoke approach that is creative yet commercially aware. It supports all brand marketing and sales for clients, even when they have a limited budget, and has worked recently with new clients who have changed business direction due to the pandemic.
RW Invest North is an award-winning property investment company with offices in Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and London. It specialises in off-plan residential and student investment properties. It has had a recruitment surge in the past year and is constantly adapting, for example with its new company-led podcast and virtual reality tours.
Sutcliffe, established in 1985, is a civil and structural engineering firm with a broad range of expertise in across built environment design. Its multi-disciplinary chartered engineers, surveyors and geo-environmentalists deliver from concept to completion. Many of its refurbishment projects are award-winning and recent project wins include working with Salford City Council, Wigan Council and Bolton Council.
Business of the Year (over 50 employees)
Sponsored by
Fletchers Solicitors was founded in 1987, and is a legal firm specialising in personal injury litigation and medical negligence to protect the rights of injured victims. Across its two sites it has more than 400 team members who help rebuild the lives of people who have suffered serious, life changing injuries. It does this not only through case work but also through supporting charities, causes and organisations that share the same mission.
The Forshaw Group is a restoration and reinstatement company specialising in insurance-related claims. It offers an end-to-end service for insurers and helps the policyholder put their property back to its pre-loss condition. New contracts include LV, Aviva and NFU, alongside beating off international competition to renew its contract United Utilities.
MSB Solicitors, established in 1988, is a full-service law firm that has expertise in 14 departments and an award-wining team that provides sector-leading services and advice. It has acquired two firms since 2019, partnered with Crowd Justice Funding and secured a place on a limited panel for the Liverpool City Council’s affordable housing initiative. A more recent highlight in company growth was the incorporation of MSB Law LLP.
Rathbone Brothers Plc is an independently owned FTSE 250 listed company and a leading provider of high-quality investment and wealth management services for private clients, charities and trustees. It employs more than 1,500 people across 15 offices in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Jersey. Its Liverpool office has more than 650 staff members and is the centre for graduate and apprentice recruitment schemes.
Corporate Social Responsibility Award
FRC Group is a collection of social businesses working to end furniture poverty, based in Liverpool and with sites across the North. It runs 100% not-for-profit commercial businesses to support its campaign and Bulky Bob’s furniture collection and reuse service. This includes selling new furniture to social housing providers and the senior living market. It recently launched its UltraClean mattress cleaning machine to divert mattresses from landfill and make them as good as new for those in need.
Wilderness Hair is a unique, herbalist hair brand that offers organic, cruelty-free, handmade products, alongside a pioneering vegan salon. Wilderness is all about sustainability, health, hair, happiness and not letting the planet or any animal suffer for vanity. Clients learn about their hair, how to make products at home, learn what’s in season and forage for their own ingredients.
Smylies Ltd was established in 2003 as a family-run business. It is a leading exporter of food and drink produce that has expanded globally. Each year, Smylies selects different Merseyside charities to collectively raise vital funds, last year raising around £20,000. In November 2020, it was recognised in the British Chambers of Commerce º£½ÇÊÓƵ Business Heroes campaign for its ongoing community outreach and support through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outstanding Charity Support
Donna Scully and Carpenters Group: Carpenters Group is one of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s leading providers of insurance and legal services. The team has grown to approximately 1,000 staff across seven locations throughout the º£½ÇÊÓƵ. Donna Scully and her team at Carpenters Group have been instrumental in supporting the Liverpool Six Community Association for many years and especially during the difficult past year. They excelled to ensure families and older people living in deprivation and hardship were supported throughout the whole pandemic with monetary contributions and front-line support.
DT Hughes Contractors is a multi-utility that provides traffic management, excavation, backfill and reinstatement. Alongside Q&A sessions online with young people and supporting local charities, the company supports the Government's kickstart scheme to tackle mass youth unemployment. It has partnered with DWP to support young people through its CE Careers programme.
Krol Corlett Construction works on behalf of a wide variety of public and private clients in many sectors including education, health, commercial and residential. From monetary donations and sponsorships to manpower and material, the company has social value at the heart of its ethos. Some projects in the past six months include refurbishing the Nugent Care charity shop, donating more than £1,200 Asda vouchers to food banks and raising nearly £4,000 for Cash for Kids.
International Business of the Year
Sponsored by
Busby is a free cycling safety app which offers unique features such as incident detection, incident prevention and easy to use near-miss reporting. It is the only automatic incident detection app available globally and helps protect global food couriers including Deliveroo, TIER and Bird. The team of five has expanded the product to more than 90 countries, has more than 100 million data points and have saved three lives already.
CAL International is a privately owned company specialising in engineering design solutions covering a range of sectors. It delivers innovative and cost effective solutions from pure mechanical engineering to complex multi-system integrations. It reacts quickly to industry changes and moves rapidly to meet deadlines. Services include nuclear engineering, MedTech, finite element analysis and more.
Smylies Ltd was established in 2003 as a family-run business. Smylies is a leading exporter of food and drink produce that has expanded globally to more than 60 countries. It prides itself on removing the complexity of difficult export processes in order to meet various country specific requirements. The company's experience in exporting to complicated markets such as Middle East has helped in the Brexit transition challenges.
Innovation and Technology Award
Sponsored by
NeedleSmart is a market-leading, patented needle destruction technology engineered in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ with an expansion into the USA. The company has the potential to create a fantastic mobile health solution for both needle use, re-supply, patient compliance, and data capture and management. Needlesmart's PRO needle destruction device removes the danger of needlestick injury and infection in just six seconds while also eliminating disposal costs, creating recycling possibilities and reducing the carbon footprint of disposal.
Parkhaven Trust has been in business for more than 125 years as a registered charity in dementia care services. It uses new technologies alongside kindness to promote independence and individuality alongside maintaining dignity. The Beeches is a residential and nursing service that uses technology to provide the highest quality environment to cater for the needs of people with dementia. The team uses electronic care planning to keep accurate, timely and detailed information.
Sky Medical Technology was founded in 2007 and is a global medical technology company. Its leading brand the gekoâ„¢ device increases blood circulation to combat a range of circulatory disorders in both the hospital and home care setting. Worn at the knee, the device gently stimulates the common peroneal nerve, activating the calf and foot muscle pumps and resulting in increased blood flow in the deep veins of the calf. The device addresses life threatening blood clots, post-operative complications, trauma-based swelling and the promotion of wound healing.
Creative Impact Award
The Jayne Moore Media Group is a marketing and PR agency that has completely innovated the original PR model to ensure the company can satisfy its clients’ ever-growing needs in a digital world. The company’s portfolio boasts a local and global reach, recently having launched three new businesses to pivot the business model and survive the pandemic.
Make CIC is a social enterprise with a vision to see people turn their passion into prosperity. It has three community creative hubs where it runs classes, supports entrepreneurs, provides shared workshop space and facilitates shows and exhibitions. The affordable spaces give the community access to space they may not have had the opportunity to access previously. Its new premises has plans for a cafe and a community garden to give people access to take their creativity outdoors.
Tate Liverpool was opened in 1988, and is a state-of the-art gallery that has had 19.2 million visitors since opening. It has helped establish a blueprint for new regional galleries, democratising art and demonstrating the power of arts-led regeneration. Tate Collective Producers is a peer-led programme to engage young people and Tate Exchange provides local organisations with space to help people connect with new perspectives.
Young Business Person of the Year
Sponsored by
Craig Greenwood founded Everkool in 2007 at the age of 19 without any qualifications. His business is now one of the North West’s leading refrigeration, ventilation and air-conditioning companies. With contracts and plans to go nationwide, Craig has built an extensive client base and successful company turnover. Acquiring Hargreaves and investing new technology gave Everkool full control from manufacturing to installation and is the only company in this field in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to do so.
John Morley is the owner and managing director of three well-established businesses in the construction and development sector: nationwide tarmac company Knowsley Surfacing, Victoria & Sons Scaffolding and property development business Legacie Developments that takes on many high-profile restoration projects to enhance Liverpool's environment and economy. A hands-on boss, John has 200 employees and launched an apprenticeship programme in 2019. Legacie has entered a partnership with the university to offer work-based learning opportunities.
Roxanne Twomey opened School Of Rox to provide private extra curriculum music and drama tuition to students of all ages and abilities. Her goal is to encourage as many local children as possible to be a part of music and drama, building the confidence of each individual student. Alongside tuition, the school puts on Roxstar parties and musical theatre clubs on weekends and school holidays for infant and primary students.
Business Person of the Year
Debbie Bennett had been a funeral director for 20 years before setting up Debbie Bennett Independent Funeral Directors. It has three local branches and sees its portfolio increase year on year. It owns all of its funeral vehicles and is completely self-sufficient, being able to raise money to buy four defibrillators for the community.
Jayne Moore, CEO of Jayne Moore Media Group, is a successful entrepreneur and business leader with a diverse portfolio of invaluable experience that spans throughout the press industry, digital and traditional marketing and PR world. She is a trustee of Merseycare NHS Foundation Trust and Vice-Chair of St George’s Hall.
On Thursday, June 17 the will take place virtually. Tickets are free of charge and will be available from the start of June.
