Lancashire entrepreneurs honoured with MBEs

Two business leaders in Lancashire have been named on the 2015 Queen's New Year Honours list.

Laila Remtulla, the founder of Red Rose Award-winning Laila's Fine Foods, has been honoured with an MBE in recognition of services to the food and drink industry, with Tim Webber, chairman and managing director of Nelson-based Barnfield Construction, receiving an MBE for his contribution to business and the community.

He is one of the leading forces behind work to transform Burnley’s Weavers’ Triangle and a member of the Burnley Bondholders’ scheme, promoting the town. Last year, Regenerate Pennine Lancashire appointed him as chairman.

The operation soon grew to fill a small production unit in Blackpool and her company now supplies major supermarkets across the UK, recently securing a multi-million pound deal with Iceland.

Laila is also a business board member of the NSPCC in Lancashire, and oversees food donations to local community sports club, the Fylde Sharks Disability Swimming Club.

Cooking is in Laila’s blood, her father was a chef as was his father and two of her brothers are also chefs. In 1999 Laila’s husband Nazir joined the company, they achieved their first national contract in spring 2000 and along with their three daughters Zera, Rishma, Natasha have worked hard to steer the company to be the thriving business that it is today.

"To be recognised in this industry is heart-warming and to know that cooking food the way you would want your family to eat it, has brought me here, is amazing."