Excellence in Business Awards 2022: Pictures of every winner and why they were chosen
By Chris Burn
Published 29th Nov 2022, 16:29 BST
Updated 29th Nov 2022, 16:37 BST
The Yorkshire Post’s Excellence in Business awards 2022 took place last week in Leeds, with more than 400 people in attendance at Headingley Stadium.
Here is a list of who won in each category on the night...
9. Medium-Sized Business of the Year - Mattress Online
MEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Mattress Online
NOMINATED: Green Building Renewables; Mansfield Pollard; Smart Search; Sure Group. After years of sustained success as an online retailer, Steve Adams has overseen Mattress Online’s ambitious acquisition strategy to open 10 brick-and-mortar stores - with two already open in Skipton and Sheffield. Sales rocketed during the pandemic and the size of the team went up by 60 per cent as Steve welcomed talented colleagues from across the industry who had lost their jobs. Not only that, the firm’s recycling initiative has saved more than 100,000 mattresses going to landfill - including 19,000 in the last year alone.
Mattress Online is now the largest independent mattress retailer in the UK and has an excellent reputation for customer service, quality, and innovation. Customers have rated Mattress Online as Excellent on Trustpilot with 95 per cent of customers saying they would buy from the company again. Photo: Gerard Binks
10. Retail Leisure and Tourism Business - Escapism Bar Group
RETAIL LEISURE AND TOURISM BUSINESS
WINNER: Escapism Bar Group
NOMINATED: Dakota Hotel; Grays Court Hotel; Ingleborough Cave; Rudding Park. Escapism Bar Group was founded by husband-and-wife team Phil and Mel Harrison. After opening Mean-Eyed Cat Bar in 2004, they went on to open six other venues in Leeds city centre. They now manage a team of over 80 - double their pre-Covid staff count.
Plans are in the offing to expand outside Yorkshire, firstly in Liverpool and then in ten new sites around the country in the next five years.
In another category filled with excellent entries, the company was chosen as the winner for their sterling work to get through the pandemic and their ambitious expansion plans.
Another impressive element of their entry was the commitment to staff training and development. The company introduced an enhanced pay structure at the start of this year, offering under-21s a third more than the national minimum wage, as well as an incentivised salary for certified bartenders. With the firm’s support, 25 of its bartenders have received certifications over the past two years. The award was picked up by Yorkshire Post business editor Chris Burn. Photo: Gerard Binks
11. Rural Business of the Year - Moss Valley Fine Meats
RURAL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Sponsored by McCain
WINNER: Moss Valley Fine Meats
NOMINATED: Drewtons; Lowe Maintenance; Robertshawe’s Farm Shop; Rolawns. Stephen and Karen Thompson produce pork, bacon, ham and sausages in their own butchery from pigs bred and reared on their farm in the beautiful Moss Valley on the edge of Sheffield. Their customers include many other independent businesses in the South Yorkshire area.
This year, Stephen did dozens of media interviews in the UK and globally highlighting the plight of British pig farmers facing mass culls of their animals. It contributed to changing Government policy with more work emergency visas issued to foreign butchers.
Putting your head above the parapet about an emotional situation and helping to change Government policy is no easy task - the work of doing this was a decisive factor in the judges’ decision-making process in this category. Photo: Gerard Binks
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR sponsored by Fido Money
WINNER: Simply Wigs
NOMINATED: Air TV; DeliVita; Hatmill; Lead Tech. Proud Yorkshire woman Emma Garrard formed a company with the intention of changing the way women with hair loss were treated after finding a lack of available support after her own children were born with a genetic condition that caused hair loss. Now working with the NHS and national charity Alopecia UK, Emma and her team have made a life-changing difference to countless people in the last 15 years.
This was the most hotly-contested category, with 69 entries being submitted; meaning making the shortlist was a major achievement. Let’s take a look at the finalists who managed it.
While there were some tremendous entries that really highlighted the breadth of the small businesses we have in this region, there could only be one winner. Judges decided that for all they do to help their customers, the winner had to be Simply Wigs. Photo: Gerard Binks