HIVE celebrates 10th anniversary awards

The Hive Ambassadors Network, the business group for Blackburn with Darwen, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its awards with honours for the brightest and best in the borough.

Hosted by Bauer Radio’s Trevor Jordan, the annual Blackburn with Darwen Business Awards saw nearly 250 guests from some of the region’s leading companies gather at King George's Hall to find out who would pick up a coveted Hive award.

Ian Brown, chair of the Hive Ambassadors Network, said: "It was an incredible night, with some fantastic organisations in the running for an award. The atmosphere and support for each other in the room was phenomenal; and I know I speak on behalf of the judges when I say that the high standard of business and passion shown by all the finalists had never been greater.

"It was our 10th anniversary year and the awards event just seems to get better and better. Everyone who was both a finalist and a winner should be rightly proud of the what they’ve achieved for both their company but also the positive impact they’d had on the Blackburn with Darwen area.”

All organisations entering the awards had to go through a rigorous judging process, including written submissions which were scored by an independent panel, followed by group interviews for most of the award categories.

The full list of winners

Family Business of the Year - sponsored by KRPR
Elektec

SME Business of the Year - sponsored by Optima Control Solutions
KeyFleet

Rising Star of the Year – sponsored by Blackburn College
Crystal Elwell – Hippo Motor Group

Employee of the Year- sponsored by Blackburn College
Alistair Eddleston – Hippo Motor Group

Entrepreneur of the Year- sponsored by Elgra Furniture and Interiors Consultants
Tom Preston – Hippo Motor Group

Micro Business of the Year – sponsored by Lancashire Life
Delilah Chloe

New Business of the Year sponsored by – Blackburn College
Fruity Llama

Growth Business of the Year – sponsored by Pierce Business Advisory & Accountancy Group
Fresh Perspective Resourcing

Health and Wellbeing Business of the Year - presented by Barnfield Construction
PT Health Coaching

Manufacturing Excellence Award – East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
Star Tissue

Commitment to Blackburn with Darwen - sponsored by Blackburn with Darwen Council
Elektec

Investment in Skills – Blackburn College
WEC Group

Best Creative & Digital Business – sponsored by Blackburn with Darwen Council
APM Design

Retail Business of the Year sponsored by – Star Tissue
Ainsworth Jewellers

Environmental Business of the Year – Eric Wright Group
Landfill Projects
Highly Commended - The Wellbeing Farm

Catering and Hospitality Business of the Year - sponsored by Pierce Business Advisory & Accountancy Group
The Wellbeing Farm

Large Business of the Year – sponsored by Blackburn with Darwen Council
WEC Group
Highly Commended - Multevo

The Hive Chairman's Award
Blackburn Rovers Ladies Football Club

The Arte Et Labore Award
Ram Gupta, Nybble