Inspiring success stories that go to make best in the business

An audience of nearly 400 business leaders attended the glittering ceremony in Leeds on Thursday evening to celebrate Yorkshire’s most successful companies.

The Yorkshire Post presented Stephen Hester with the Individual Award for Excellence in recognition of his turnaround work at Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the biggest and most complex restructuring projects in corporate history.

He told the audience: “I have spent most of my professional life trying to serve businesses of one sort or another and it’s fantastic to see the stories here this evening and the effort that’s gone into it.

“This is what makes economies, communities, societies... the businesses here.

“People like me shuffle paper on a big scale and I pay my tribute to everyone.”

Patrick McLoughlin, the Secretary of State for Transport, told the audience how the £50bn high-speed rail project linking the North to London will give the Yorkshire economy the room to grow.

The keynote speaker said: “The North and the Midlands will gain at least double the benefit of the South.

“We are at the moment spending millions on infrastructure in the South East. HS2 is your turn and it’s the turn of the Midlands and the turn of the North West.”

Mr McLoughlin, the Conservative MP for Derbyshire Dales, said HS2 will help rebalance Britain’s economy and provide the North with the tools and the infrastructure it needs to compete.

“These projects do take a long time to build,” he said. “If we wanted a quick fix we wouldn’t be looking at long-term solutions like HS2.”

Mr McLoughlin is one of the few Cabinet Ministers to have experienced life as a manual worker. He worked as a miner before entering parliament.

Dan Walker, the rising star of BBC Sport, hosted the awards ceremony and entertained the audience with tales of his work interviewing the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Beckham.

Speaking afterwards, he said: “I very much enjoyed it. I was told this was a great event and it did not disappoint.

“A good bit of Yorkshire rowdiness in the room, which I always enjoy, a good bit of cheering for those who won some prestigious awards, and all-round fun.”

Jeremy Clifford, the editor of the Yorkshire Post and editorial director of Johnston Press Yorkshire, said the eight-year-old awards have highlighted the strength and perseverance of Yorkshire businesses through boom, bust and now tentative recovery.

“Since 2006, this awards dinner has been the most eagerly awaited event in Yorkshire’s corporate calendar.

“Political figures who decide the fate of our country have talked directly to Yorkshire’s corporate community at these awards, which celebrate businesses of all shapes and sizes.

“Tonight, we will hear inspiring stories about entrepreneurs who refused to be cowed by the biggest financial crisis of modern times.

“Some of them founded their business with a laptop on a spare table, while others run vast businesses which have been mainstays of their local community for many years.

“There are no losers at tonight’s ceremony. Every company that has made the shortlist is of outstanding quality, and can be proud to be here.”

The Yorkshire Post would like to thank the main sponsors of the Excellence in Business awards: DLA Piper, Goldman Sachs, PwC and Yorkshire Bank.

It would also like to thank associate sponsors, Bradford University School of Management, Drax, Elevation Recruitment, O2, QBE Insurance and thebigword group, as well as Henderson Insurance, which sponsored the champagne reception.

The judging panel was made up of Juliette Healey of the Bank of England, David Spicer of Bradford University School of Management, Jonathan Procter of DLA Piper, Andrew Devonald of PwC, Paul Grace of Yorkshire Bank and Bernard Ginns, business editor of the Yorkshire Post, who chaired the panel.

Winners in full