The winners of The Whitewed Directory Awards 2018 were announced at a glamorous Awards ceremony held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon on Thursday 7 February 2019.
The winners are:
- Business of the Year: The DeciBelles, based in Melksham – presented by Sara Tye
- Start-up Business of the Year: Fluffy Puffin, based in Calne – presented by Ian Larrard
- Most Inspiring Business Person of the Year: Hannah Culley’s Cakes, based in Royal Wootton Bassett – Presented by Emma Richards
- Peers Award: Relive The Day Filming, based in Swindon – Presented by Natalie Lovett, Director of The Whitewed Directory
The judging panel, who had to make extremely hard decisions in choosing the winners, comprised of three highly respected industry professionals: Sara Tye, award winning, top 500 international PR, business and organisational development expert and serial entrepreneur, Ian Larrard, Director of Business West in Swindon and Wiltshire, and Emma Richards, Director of Sales of DoubleTree by Hilton Swindon.
“I am so thrilled for our four Whitewed Award winners, they beat off stiff competition as the standard of entries was so very high. To win is a great accolade. Congratulations too, to those companies who made the shortlist. This was a great achievement due to the extremely high standard of all entries,” said Natalie Lovett, Director of The Whitewed Directory.
Entrepreneur Richard James was the guest speaker at the Awards ceremony. Richard has gone from leasing a small-premises, now a flower shop, in Wroughton to creating a multi-award winning and multi-million-pound business that has become Swindon’s largest Lettings & Estate Agency. Reporting a 22% growth last year, the Agency currently employs over 100 local people.
“Richard shared his experiences gained on the road to his success and covered six key tips on how to effectively grow a business. Interestingly, he highlighted what success might look like for all of us who run businesses. It was a really inspirational talk and one from which we will learn how to take our businesses forward,” said Natalie.
Over the last four years, The Whitewed Directory members base has grown, and so have the relationships within it. Many members recommend each other and are often delighted to find out they will be working with each other, as they know they’ll be working alongside a professional and quality peer.
“All of the entrants demonstrated real business acumen, a knowledge within their specific sector and crucially, a determination to succeed. The judges were so impressed with the high-quality entries, it was really tough for them to choose the winners,” said Lovett.
“All of us would like to say a big thank you to everyone who entered and offer our congratulations to the winners. Here’s to the 2019’s Awards being even bigger!”
