Our 2018 Finalists!

Forty-eight family businesses are through to the final stage of the Midlands Family Business Awards 2018, with 31 East Midlands-based family firms and 17 from the West Midlands.

The businesses in the running for the headline Midlands Family Business of the Year Award are East Midlands businesses Glossop Cartons, Ward Recycling, WB Power Services Ltd and J Flex, and Bumble Hole Foods Ltd and Travelword Motorhomes from the West Midlands.

Family firms from the length and breadth of the Midlands are finalists in the Awards’ new categories for 2018 - Corporate Social Responsibility and Innovation. 

Amongst the firms that are finalists in the CSR Award are West Midlands-based David Manners Ltd and Bumble Hole Foods Ltd and East Midlands’ Fashion UK, G Wathall & Son and Owen Taylor & Sons, whilst the West Midlands’ Southall Associates Ltd and Telford Laundry Ltd and East Midlands’ HSG UK Ltd, Magenta UK and Streets Heaver Healthcare are the finalists in the Innovation Award. 

Also through to the final stage across the Awards’ other categories are Bennett Architectural, Pertemps, Professional Polishing Services Ltd and GemPort Jewellery Ltd, a finalist and highly commended in the Manufacturing Excellence Award last year.

Matthew Ballard of East Midlands’ family business Ballards Removals’ - current holder of the Employer of the Year Award - is a finalist in the Director of the Year category, whilst Derbyshire’s Bright Side Vets and Lincolnshire’s Nick Young Tractor Parts Ltd are both shortlisted in two award categories each.

All finalists now meet the Awards’ individual category independent judging panels, each of which is led by a leading family business individual, supported by a sponsor representative, an industry expert and representative from the Midlands Family Business Awards team. 

The finalists are also automatically entered into the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Streets Chartered Accountants, which will see them face the public vote to find the overall Winner and Highly Commended businesses. 

And in a new feature for 2018, all winners will also have automatic entry into the regional finals of the Family Business of the Year Awards, run by partner of the Midlands Family Business Awards, Family Business United, along with any relevant industry and market sector categories. 

Now in their ninth year, the not-for-profit Midlands Family Business Awards are backed and run by The Wilson Organisation. The firm’s MD Charlotte Perkins, the third generation of the family to lead the business alongside her sister Annabel Prow, explains: 

“The Awards are the region’s only independent initiative dedicated to celebrating and recognising the success, achievements and innovations of family run and owned businesses. The winners and final results will remain a tightly kept secret until the Awards ceremony and black-tie dinner on Thursday 22nd November 2018 at Leicester’s Athena, when we will be joined by over 300 guests including all of this year’s 48 finalists.  

Each of this year’s entrants demonstrate the exceptional pedigree of the family businesses across the Midlands, and the finalists together prove the family business sector’s vital contribution to the region’s economy. We wish all finalists the very best when they meet the judges in the final round.”  

The full line-up of finalists in the ten categories for 2018 is:

Family Business of the Year - Sponsored by OrderWise

Bumble Hole Eggs Ltd (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire)

Glossop Cartons (Glossop, Derbyshire)

J-Flex (Retford, Nottinghamshire)

Travelworld Motorhomes (Telford)

Ward Recycling (Derbyshire)

WB Power Services Ltd (Derbyshire)

Best Small Family Business - Sponsored by John Pye Auctions

Bright Side Vets (Swadlincote, Derbyshire)

Dalycom (Leicester)

H20 Hygiene (Walsall)

Nick Young Tractor Parts (Market Rasen, Lincolnshire)

Obam Stairlifts (Lincoln)

Torworth Grange Farm Shop and Lakes (Retford, Nottinghamshire)

Corporate Social Responsibility - Sponsored by V Formation

Bumble Hole Eggs (Bromsgrove, Worcestershire)

David Manners (Birmingham)

Fashion UK (Leicester)

G Wathall & Son (Derby)

Owen Taylor & Sons (Derbyshire)

Director of the Year - Sponsored by Goldfish

Andrews Building Supplies – Jason Osman (Peterborough)

Ballards Removals – Matthew Ballard (Retford, Nottinghamshire)

Oldrids & Downtown – Richard Broadhead (Boston, Lincolnshire)

Petwood Hotel – Emma Brealey (Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire)

Ramsden International – Sean Ramsden (Lincolnshire)

Wensley Group – Ian Tyrell (Redditch, Worcestershire)

Employer of the Year - Sponsored by Buckles Solicitors 

David Manners (Birmingham)

Fashion UK (Leicester)

Morley Hayes Leisure (Derbyshire)

Pertemps (Warwickshire)

Swiftool Precision Engineering (Nottinghamshire)

Tommies Childcare (Coventry)

Fastest Growing Family Business - Sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers 

Bambino Mio (Northampton)

Nick Young Tractor Parts (Market Rasen, Lincolnshire)

Oakwood Training (Market Harborough)

Travelworld Motorhomes (Telford)

VisionDrive (Lincoln)

Ward Recycling (Derbyshire)

Innovation - Sponsored by Morningside Pharmaceuticals 

HSG UK (Derby)

Magenta UK (Ilkeston, Derby)

Southall Associates (Solihull, Birmingham)

Streets Heaver Healthcare (Lincoln)

Telford Laundry Ltd (Telford)

Service Excellence - Sponsored by Shakespeare Martineau LLP 

arrangeMY (Worcester)

Bright Side Vets (Swadlincote, Derbyshire)

Fairlawns Hotel (Walsall)

Netmetix (Coventry)

Premier Care (Mansfield)

Southall Associates (Solihull, Birmingham) 

Manufacturing Excellence - Sponsored by The Wilson Organisation 

A1 Flue Systems (Newark, Nottinghamshire)

Bennett Architectural (Staffordshire)

Glossop Cartons (Glossop, Derbyshire)

James T Blakeman & Co (Staffordshire)

Owen Taylor & Sons (Derbyshire)

Professional Polishing Services (Smethwick, West Midlands)

Retail Excellence

Advance Performance UK (Peterborough)

GemPort Jewellery (Birmingham)

Rutland Cycling (Rutland, East Midlands)

Spice Kitchen (Walsall)

Stuart Mobility Ltd (Derbyshire)

The Internet Gardener Ltd (Nottinghamshire)