Forest Group: Celebrating another year of success

Forest Group has had an extraordinary year, securing its reputation as a market leader in the air conditioning and refrigeration sector.

With multiple award wins and prestigious awards finals still to be concluded, the company continues to demonstrate excellence across service, leadership and customer commitment. But beyond the accolades, Forest Group’s true strength lies in its people, a team that thrives on support, collaboration, and a shared passion for success.

Award Recognition on all fronts

The company celebrated a major industry win, being recently crowned Contractor of the Year at the National ACR & Heat Pump Awards, a prestigious accolade that cements Forest Group’s status as a true leader in their field.

The company’s success was also recently celebrated at the BIBAs (Be Inspired Business Awards), where Forest Group was named Service Business of the Year, a recognition of its commitment to delivering exceptional service to some of the UK’s biggest hospitality brands, including Mitchells & Butlers, Greene King, Marstons and JD Wetherspoon.

Additionally, Forest Group was highly commended in the Leadership Team of the Year category, further reinforcing the company’s strong management team. At the recent Red Rose Awards, Forest Group were named Family Business of the Year finalists, and were also announced on the night as finalists in the prestigious Lancashire Business View Award category.

Looking ahead, Forest Group is eagerly awaiting the results of the upcoming ACR News Awards in London where their team have been recognised as 'Customer Service Team of the Year' and 'Contractor of the Year' finalists.

These finalist recognitions underscore Forest Group’s standing as a leader in its field and reflect the industry-wide recognition of its high standards.

Culture built on support and balance

While awards and industry recognition are important milestones, what truly sets Forest Group apart are its people and culture.

Forest Group prides itself on fostering a healthy work-life balance, ensuring that while the team remains dedicated, hardworking, and passionate, they are encouraged to work together as a team to work around each others specific needs, offering the flexibility they need to excel both at home and at work.

Their people retention is an impressive demonstration of this and one third of their employees have been with the business over 10 years and over half have been with the company more than five years, with many more approaching this milestone. In 2025, three of the senior leadership team celebrate their 30th anniversary, an impressive milestone and achievement all round.

Developing the Next Generation

This commitment to people extends beyond the current workforce, as Forest Group continues to invest in the next generation of industry professionals.

The company’s dedication to nurturing talent was recently recognised when one of its apprentices, Tom Overend won a National Apprenticeship Award for Refrigeration Trainee of the Year.

This achievement is a testament to the company’s efforts in training, mentoring, and developing skilled professionals who will shape the future of the industry.

The impact of Forest Group’s training ethos is evident across the industry, with former team members going on to play key roles in developing the next generation of refrigeration and air conditioning engineers.

A number of their team now occupy senior training positions at PRTC, one of the country’s leading specialist refrigeration training providers, demonstrating not only the high quality of Forest Group’s workforce but also the long-term opportunities the company creates, both within its own business and across the wider industry."

Looking to the Future

As Forest Group awaits the results of its latest award nominations, one thing is clear: the company’s success is driven by its people. With a dedicated team, an unwavering focus on service excellence, and a culture that promotes support, collaboration, and balance, Forest Group is not just leading in its sector, it’s setting the standard for how businesses should operate.

No matter the outcome of the upcoming awards, Forest Group is already a winner, because success isn’t just about trophies, it’s about the incredible team behind them.

It comes after Lancashire Business View also named The Forest Group was named as one of the firms recognised as one of our inspirational family businesses in the county in the latest edition.

The Forest Group spans two generations and has been operating for more than 30 years. It is now run by the Fraser brothers Andrew and Neil, and their sister Janine Vernon.