As 2022 draws to a close we're looking back at some of the companies we have recognised as among the best in the business - from engineers to pasty makers.
At BusinessLive we're proud to celebrate business success - and that's why we've held awards across the country in 2022 in partnership with our brilliant sister live brands.
Our Reach events team has run business events in England - from Devon to Tyneside - in Wales and in Scotland through our sister site Insider.co.uk.
So we thought we'd bring together some of the winners from across the country to celebrate their success.
This time we're looking at the companies that have won the company of the year categories at our Reach events across the country. The companies here span sectors from engineering to outsourcing - and our lists act as a showcase for British business resilience.
And we know winners love our awards. Sean Keyes, whose engineering firm Sutcliffe was honoured at our Liverpool awards, said: "This award will allow us to continue to grow our business, recruit quality staff and uphold our reputation across the UK".
We'll be honouring more businesses in our awards across the country in 2023 - keep reading BusinessLive for more details.
Liverpool - Sutcliffe
Winner of the Business of the Year (over 51 employees) - category at the Liverpool ECHO and BusinessLive Regional Business Awards 2022
Multidisciplinary structural and civil engineering firm Sutcliffe won the Business of the Year title for the second year in a row.
Managing director, Sean Keyes said: "After winning the Business of the Year award last year, we were all delighted. To win it again for the second year in a row is a huge honour.
"As a company founded in the heart of Merseyside, it really is great to win their award twice. Not to mention the fact that both myself and director Billy Baldwin were both Echo delivery boys in our youth!
"Being recognised as Business of the Year is a testament to the staff at Sutcliffe and their incredible hard work despite the recent challenges over the last couple of years.
"This award will allow us to continue to grow our business, recruit quality staff and uphold our reputation across the UK."
Cambridgeshire - Metalcraft
Winner of the Large Business of the Year category at the CambridgeshireLive Business Awards 2022
The judges said: "Metalcraft enables ideas to be turned into reality, transforming the world we live in throughout its more than 150 years of history. From supplying the medical industry to the nuclear sector, this multi-million-pound business is constantly investing in its growth and wider ambitions for advanced manufacturing in Cambridgeshire."
Cornwall - Proper Cornish Pasties
Winner of the Large Business of the Year category at the Western Morning News Business Awards 2022
Founded in 1988, Proper Cornish is a business that produces authentic Cornish pasties alongside a range of savoury pastries. In the last year alone, Proper Cornish produced 60,000 pasties a day, and 100,000 savoury pastries - and has tried to support the Cornish economy in its work.
Many of Proper Cornish’s suppliers are based in Cornwall - but the business also sources its packaging, recycling and website design from Cornish companies. Proper Cornish’s authenticity and commitment to quality have helped it thrive, with turnover increasing 23% from 2021 to 2022, and plans to invest and expand further.
Birmingham - Fortel
Winner of the Diversity and Inclusion Award and Company of the Year titles at the Birmingham BusinessLive Awards in association with the Birmingham Post 2022
Fortel won the brand new Diversity and Inclusion category at our Birmingham event before being named overall company of the year.
The group, headquartered in Walsall, places thousands of agency staff at more than 130 locations and also trains the next generation of industry workers.
Our judges described Fortel as a disruptor in its field and were impressed with its work in diversity and inclusion and how it excelled in a difficult sector during the pandemic.
Fortel opened a new head office last year near the M6 which also contains a training academy to upskill workers from all backgrounds across the West Midlands.
It also carried out an initiative called 'Top 5 by 2025' which promised to increase under-represented demographics in its own workforce by 25 per cent by 2025.
At the event, Amarvir Sandhawalia, group chief operating officer at Fortel, told us: "We are a BME-owned business so diversity is at the forefront of what we do and in our own workforce.
"In construction, we have seen over time that there's a struggle with diversity and, as an industry going forward, we have to diversify and move into different pools for talent selection which we haven't done in the past."
South Wales - Au Vodka
Winner of the Judges’ Choice Award and the overall Company of the Year title at the Swansea Bay Business Awards 2022
Swansea-based Au Vodka was a double winner at our Swansea Bay awards.
Swansea friends Charlie Morgan, 26, and Jackson Quinn, 29, have been on the journey of a lifetime since starting Au Vodka back in 2015. From a limited run of 2,000 bottles to now manufacturing 35,000 bottles daily, the brand has experienced skyrocketing growth as it has become a game changer within the alcohol industry.
The brand, underpinned by excellent marketing, use of social media, and product endorsement, has also enjoyed international expansion - and is now sold in 40 countries from Spain to Australia and most recently 32 states across the US. AU Vodka has also experienced exceptional revenue and profit growth.
Hull - ResQ
Winner of the Business of the Year (Over 51 employees) category at the Hull Live Business Awards 2022
Continued dramatic growth as a mature entity earned contact centre specialist ResQ the top accolade at November's event.
It has won major contracts with huge clients, extending existing work with the likes of Vodafone and British Gas to enable such advances as the headcount has soared.
No stranger to the stage, with industry accolades and Best Companies recognition, chief operating officer Matt Gray shed light on what makes the business work. He said: “The ethos of ResQ hasn’t changed since we started, it was all about doing what’s right for our clients and our clients’ customers and it is no different if that is at a small scale or a large corporate.
“We speak to hundreds of thousands of our clients’ customers a day, we make sure they get a great experience on behalf of our clients. It is a privately-owned business, a family feel and a family ethos, regardless of whether it was 50 people when I joined or 2,000 now.”
Matt had joined in 2007, a year on from Nic Marshall and Gill Marchbank founding ResQ with an initial team of 12. It now operates four separate call centres, two in Hull and two in Durham.
Manchester - Network Plus
Winner of the Turnover over £100m category at the Manchester Evening News Business Awards
Network Plus provides services for utility and infrastructure clients across the North West and beyond.
After their win, Stuart Fraser, joint CEO at Network Plus, said: "It was a great honour to win the Business of the Year in our category at the MEN Awards last week. Although we provide vital utility and infrastructure services to clients across the UK, Manchester holds a special place in our hearts.
"In the Greater Manchester area, we support clients serving a population of 2.7m with essential services including water, gas, transport from our headquarters. We need a strong team to deliver these services and take Network Plus forward, which is why we provide opportunities for apprentices, graduates and young trainees within the local area."
Gloucestershire - Leeways Packaging
Winner of the Business of the Year category at the GloucestershireLive Business Awards 2022
Leeways Packaging was founded in 1971 and has grown to become one of the leading suppliers of thermoformed plastic packaging and process solutions in the UK.
The GloucestershireLive Business Awards - supported in 2022 by returning headline sponsor Randall & Payne - has been recognising the county’s best businesses for many years.
Sarah Pullen, Reach Plc's commercial director of regionals, who addressed the event, said: "Whether you are living here as well as setting up business here - the warmth, the co-opetition, the collaboration and the imagination of businesses in Gloucestershire is outstanding."
North East - Cleveland Containers
Winner of the North East Company of the Year 2022 category at the North East Business Awards 2022
Shipping container specialist Cleveland Containers pipped Newcastle Building Society and eQuality Solutions to the grand prize at the North East Business Awards 2022.
The £60m turnover had already been named Teesside Company of the Year at the awards' regional heat in June - and went on to secure a minority investment from private equity firm LDC to help with its growth.
Andrew Thompson, chief operating officer, told us: “I’m just so delighted for the whole team - old and new. Some people have been with the company since it’s inception. I’m also delighted for Jane and Jonathan, the owners of Cleveland Containers who’ve just inspired everyone to achieve such greatness and it’s fantastic for them.
“We’re up to 70 people now having grown quite considerably over the last 12 months. We’re looking to probably double that in the next 12-18 months. We’ve got really ambitious growth plans, expanding into new sectors and creating a much larger depot network across the UK but all of it from our head office in Teesside, where we’re looking forward to creating a lot more jobs.”
Leicestershire - Cite
Winner of the Business of the Year Award at the 2022 LeicestershireLive Business Awards
Full service, independent creative communications agency Cite was named overall 2022 Business of the Year at the LeicestershireLive Business Awards after earlier collecting the Professional Services Business of the Year award.
Based on the edge of Leicester city centre, Cite has clients across the UK and Europe.
It employs more than two dozen specialists across creative, technology, strategy, planning and delivery. It is led by Laura Bent and Dafydd Prichard and works with brands including the NHS, Continental Tyres, Sika UK, Puzzel, Sekonda, Saint-Gobain, Link and Motimate.
Cite co-founder Laura Bent said: “Wow! We’re so proud of all of the team at Cite. Well done everybody!
“These awards make the huge effort we’ve put into 2022 so worthwhile. We’ve placed an immense emphasis this year on people and process.
“This endorsement from our local business community means so much to Cite, our clients and all our partners”
Lincolnshire - Camper UK
Winner of the Business of the Year 2022 category at the Lincolnshire Business Awards 2022
The winners of this year’s Lincolnshire Live Business Awards were revealed at a black-tie dinner back in October, and were held in association with the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.
The Business of the Year 2022 was named as motorhome dealership Camper UK.
The firm, based in Deacon Road, Lincoln, has delivered excellence for years, contributed greatly to the Lincolnshire economy, and helped spread its high standards to others through initiatives such as the ‘Grow Your Own’ campaign, and a training and accreditation partnership with the University of Lincoln.
Director Dean Hyde said: “We were absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for these prestigious awards but then to become a winner of both Business Person of the Year, and Business of the Year is an absolute honour.
“With the array of excellent Lincolnshire companies shortlisted for this award, it truly was a shock to us all! Lots of emotions from this very proud moment, but it is so important to credit all of the Camper UK team and family who consistently work tirelessly to deliver the company values, and have ultimately made this award possible.
“I am grateful to have a dedicated team, which I can boast to be some of the best people I have ever worked with.”
