Family Business Awards crowns regional champions in front of capacity crowd

Family businesses from across the North West celebrated in spectacular style at The North West Family Business Awards on Friday night at the Rum Warehouse in Liverpool’s iconic Titanic Hotel.

The city’s historic Stanley Docks was the setting for the sell out 2022 Awards, organised by The Family Business Community. The North West Family Business Awards celebrate family businesses of all sizes and sectors covering Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

A capacity crowd of over 400 gathered on the night to see the winners of the region’s best family businesses revealed, including representatives from over 60 family business finalists, plus judges, sponsors and event hosts Sue Howorth, Dave Clarkson and food writer and presenter, Nigel Barden.

The Awards opened with an energetic dance sequence from the Liverpool-based Leah McDonald School of Dance, which was followed by a three-course meal and lively entertainment from Lord of the Dance fiddler player, Richard Sanderson.

Organisers of the event, Sue Howorth and Dave Clarkson said, “We wanted this year’s awards to be something really special and we’re delighted with how it came together on the night. Our Awards is anything but a run of the mill business awards – it’s a celebration of the ecosystem that is family business!”

They added, “There was such an appetite for the Awards this year and the atmosphere and buzz in the room was electric. The week before, we had to close ticket sales as we’d completely sold out!”

“What was also nice this year was that over 80% of applicants were completely new to us, so it was great to meet lots of new family businesses and welcome them into our family business
community."

The twenty-strong team of Awards judges had a difficult task, with a large number of high quality entries from across the North West region. Collectively they also chose their own winner for the special Judges Award, announced on the night as Lancashire firm, Mantle Packaging.

Laura Sieczkowski, managing director of Mantle Packaging, said: “We can’t thank the Awards team enough. On the anniversary of our 25th year in business and in the week that I officially became Managing Director, to also win the Judges Award is beyond anything we could imagine.

“We are absolutely delighted as a family and for my parents to receive that recognition just as they retire is the best feeling ever. The night itself was fabulous and we all had a wonderful time. The North West Family Business Awards are such a special thing to be part of.”

In addition to the main categories, the People’s Choice awards invited nominations for finalists from the public, and this year over 15,000 votes were placed for finalists across the five counties, as well as a further 4,500 votes for the Employee of the Year category won by Michelle Mooney of G&J Shuttleworth in Morecambe.

One of the Sponsors attending the Awards, Martin Rankin of The Cumberland commented, “We’re pleased to have played a part in making sure our region’s family businesses receive the recognition they deserve. The event was a real celebration of family business values and ethos."

Dave Clarkson of the North West Family Business Awards added, “We’d like to thank all our judges and events team for their incredible hard work, our sponsors for their support and to everyone who entered the awards this year!”

Full list of winners for the North West Family Business Awards 2022:

Agribusiness
Smithills Open Farm - Greater Manchester

Best Social Impact: ESG & Grassroots
ESG – Herdy - Cumbria
Grass Roots – Elektec - Lancashire

Business Services
Hackney and Leigh - Cumbria

Construction & Engineering
Story Decorating Group - Cumbria

Emerging Family Business
Cheshire Botanicals – Cheshire

Food and Drink Establishments
The Dalesman Country Inn - Cumbria

Food and Drink Producers
Pennington’s Tea and Coffee - Cumbria

Haulage and Logistics
Farrall’s Group - Cheshire

Leisure & Tourism
The Yan at Broadrayne - Cumbria

Manufacturing
Clark Door Limited - Cumbria

Retailers
Laurens Cows – Cumbria

Wholesalers
Algeos - Merseyside

Employee of the Year
Michelle Mooney of G&J Shuttleworth Ltd - Lancashire

People's Choice – Cumbria
Cable and Blake

People's Choice – Lancashire
New Brooms

People's Choice – Greater Manchester
Jardin Living

People's Choice – Cheshire
Employment Law Solutions

People's Choice – Merseyside
Spice Kitchen

Judges Award
Mantle Packaging - Lancashire

North West Family Business of the Year
Farrall’s Group - Cheshire

Entries for The North West Family Business Awards 2023 will open on 6th October at the Family Business MidiCon at Levens Hall, Cumbria. The 2023 Awards will be held in Cheshire next May.