Hard graft of entrepreneur bears fruit

Paul Sewell, the managing director of the Hull-based Sewell Group, delivered the first school in Britain under the Private Finance Initiative – Victoria Dock Primary in Hull – in 1999.

In 2004, he also brought the Yorkshire International Business Convention to Hull. Sewell Group operates across a variety of sectors, including construction, retail and project development. It has played a major role in regenerating deprived parts of Hull.

Charles Ridgway, the managing director of equipment manufacturer Group Rhodes, from Pontefract, and Haydn White, the Leeds-based chairman of the Infrastructure Committee of the British Standards Institution, also receive OBEs.

There are MBEs for Stephen Brailey, the chief executive of Shefffield International Venues, and Charles Cecil, the York-based director of Revolution Software, which is a computer games developer.

Entrepreneur Carolyn Burgess receives an MBE for services to business in Yorkshire and the Humber.

There is also an MBE for Shirley Phillips, the co-owner of Cosyhome Insulation, who is from Badsworth, West Yorkshire, in recognition of her work to promote the use of sustainable energy.