KEiBA winners announced at glittering event

The winners of the first ever Kent Excellence in Business Awards (KEiBA), which were staged and produced by Kent County Council and the KM Group, celebrated their success at a sparkling event at Leeds Castle last night (Thursday).

Eleven businesses and individuals were selected as category winners after a tough judging process whittled down almost 200 entries and 27 finalists.

The winners of the first ever KEiBA scheme are:

Large Business of the Year
Denne Construction, Sittingbourne

SME Business of the Year
English Wines Group, Tenterden

Start-Up Business of the Year
Red Alert Telecare Ltd, Ashford

Best Social Care Business
Home Service Complete Care, Deal

Best Business from the Creative Industries
Courtyard Studios, Hollingbourne

Best Leisure and Tourism Business
Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham

Business Commitment to the Community
Cripps Harries Hall LLP, Tunbridge Wells

Employer of the Year
Holiday Extras, Nr Hythe

Customer Service and Commitment Award
RBLI, Aylesford

Entrepreneur of the Year
Gerard Coleman, Artisan du chocolat, Ashford

Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Kate Austen, Podplus, Ashford

Winners of the eleven categories received a specially created glass trophy, designed by renowned Kent glass artist Annie Ross. It’s hoped that the awards will also boost staff morale and help attract new staff. Winning an award will also help businesses raise their profile in Kent.

Kevin Lynes, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development said:
“KEiBA is set to become the key business event of the year in Kent and these awards were an important opportunity for businesses to celebrate their success and network – especially during these difficult economic times.

“It was fantastic to see almost 500 people at the awards last night and we’re already looking forward to supporting more businesses with these awards next year.”

Geraldine Allinson, Chairman of KM Group, said:
"These awards are a great way to recognise our county’s business success and to celebrate their excellence. This first year has shown the immensely high standard of businesses and individuals in Kent, and we hope that KEiBA will help encourage and attract even more business talent for the county.”

KEiBA is staged and produced by Kent County Council and the KM Group to recognise and reward excellence in Kent businesses. The categories recognise companies of all sizes as well as individual awards.

Further information about the winners:

Large Business of the Year - Denne Construction, Sittingbourne
Denne Construction is a building firm established in 1803 by George Henry Denne and which became part of the Dutch-owned Leadbitter Group in 2006. It is resolutely Kentish, investing time, money and effort into the local community.

It has weathered the 2008/9 downturn by building on a strong reputation for quality, and an ability to undertake a diverse range of private and public sector projects.

Its pioneering National Skills Academy at the Stanhope Estate at Ashford – the first such construction academy in the UK – combined Denne’s support for regeneration with a commitment to train the next generation of builders.
Award judges praised Denne’s investment in Kent – it employs around 1,000 people a month directly and indirectly - and for sourcing significant amounts of material from the county.

SME Business of the Year - English Wines Group, Tenterden
English Wines Group has captured a 40 per cent market-leading share in English wines with its range of sparklers, rose, whites and reds marketed with the Chapel Down label.

The winery off Smallhythe Road works with 15 partner vineyards across Kent, Essex and Sussex and is at the forefront of innovation. It was one of the first vineyards in the county to spot the great opportunity that rising temperatures in the south east could give quality wine-makers.

English Wines already makes award-winning sparkling wines and Chapel Down is recognised as a major force behind the changing perception of English wines.

Start-Up Business of the Year- Red Alert Telecare Ltd, Ashford

Red Alert Telecare, founded in 2007, is a pioneer in the management, installation, and maintenance of telecare, telehealth and warden call systems.

With strong Government backing and investment for keeping vulnerable people in their own home, demand for Red Alert services has soared in the past two years.

The company, which employs 13 people and seven sub-contractors, installs sophisticated monitoring equipment to ensure that these people are never far from a helping hand. If they have a problem, the equipment triggers a remote alarm that identifies both the client and the difficulty.

The company has a positive attitude to problem solving, well-trained engineers and strong back-up from a management team with practical hands-on experience in the field. It monitors customer satisfaction at all stages.

 

Best Social Care Business- Home Service Complete Care, Deal
Home Service Complete Care was founded in 1989, just before the Care in the Community Act came into force, and now employs more than 50 people.
It has become one of Kent’s largest providers of home care and support.

Staff are trained to help with personal needs such as washing, dressing, medication, shaving, bathing or showering, catheter care and oral hygiene.
Registered with the Commission for Social Care, it works hard to exceed care standards and has achieved a 3-star excellent rating.

Staff training is given high priority, and all office staff are NVQ level 2 accredited in customer care. Career development is encouraged, and many care/support workers have been with the company since its inception.
Judges hailed this 20-year old domiciliary care business as a forward thinking company with clear business objectives, adding that it never lost sight of user focus, praising its awareness of the overriding need to safeguard vulnerable adults.

Best Business from the Creative Industries- Courtyard Studios, Hollingbourne
Courtyard Studios has a wide portfolio of services and is a great example of the wealth of creative and media talent in the county.

The business, set up in 1988, has grown steadily and has been doing well despite the downturn. It is now embarking on a period of expansion, taking on more staff and developing the production side of the business.

Courtyard Studios offers a one-stop shop for clients’ film needs, providing an equipment rental service to support the industry. It works closely with Maidstone Studios, Kent County Council and Kent’s award-winning production company Medb Films

Best Leisure and Tourism Business- Chatham Historic Dockyard, Chatham
In 1984, the Medway Towns were plunged into economic trauma by the closure of the Royal Navy dockyard. Unemployment soared to nearly 20 per cent. Businesses that had served the dockyard and Royal Navy for decades faced closure.

Yet 25 years on, Chatham Historic Dockyard has become a popular destination for visitors, an iconic symbol of sea power that constructed Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory.

The historic Georgian dockyard – run by a charitable trust - provides a stimulating combination of naval history, modern business and residential use. Last year, it attracted more than 150,000 visitors and hosted 20,000 formal education visits. Just as it was in its naval heyday, it is a hive of business activity, with 120 enterprises based there. It is also a special place for the people who live in the dockyard’s 112 homes.

Business Commitment to the Community - Cripps Harries Hall LLP, Tunbridge Wells

Cripps Harries Hall LLP law firm has warmly embraced community involvement (CIP) and corporate social responsibility (CSR), combining both with strong environmental policies. Founded as a partnership in 1852, Cripps employs 270 people, is the largest legal practice in Kent and ranked 108th in the country.

It aligns clear CSR and CIP policies with the firm’s core values of Distinctive - “bespoke and organic, not imposed from above” – Open – “to everybody and entirely voluntary” – and Committed – “by matching people’s enthusiasms, our efforts would be whole-hearted.”

 

Every member of staff is entitled to use one working day a year on CIP activities. One of these activities included constructing a fox-proof pen at Pepenbury, a residential care home for adults with learning difficulties. Volunteers also visit St Barnabas school once a week to mentor children in reading skills.

CHH sponsors various events and staff nominate a charity of the year.

Employer of the Year - Holiday Extras, Nr Hythe
A great all-round performance landed this prize for a made-in-Kent success story. The 900-strong workforce voted Holiday Extras into The Sunday Times Best 100 Employer List an impressive four times.

Holiday Extras, founded in 1983 by Gerry Pack, even made a commitment to staff that there would be no downsizing during recession. This pledge was underpinned by a growth strategy and determination to expand market share by offering best choice, prices and service.

Training, management development and coaching are given high priority, with exceptional employees given rewards such as a volunteering break in a Namibian wildlife sanctuary.

Judges commended an excellent business performance and “a flexible training and development programme that’s fitted to the needs of individuals.”

Customer Service and Commitment Award - Royal British Legion Industries ( RBLI), Aylesford
This multi-award-winning charity, founded just after the First World War, employs hundreds of people, many with a disability or health condition, on practical manufacturing projects and is an exemplar in the field.

A recent coup was winning a Government Pathways to Work contract to help disabled people in Kent, Surrey and Sussex and beyond come off benefit and into the workplace. It is the only “Prime Provider” in Kent and one of only two charities in the UK to achieve this status.

Its employment solutions division supports more than 12,000 people a year, helping them find and sustain meaningful jobs.

RBLI also carries out its more traditional role of serving ex-servicemen and women, some of whom live in the Royal British Legion village at Aylesford. It provides 24-hour nursing care in a dedicated home.

Award judges were impressed by RBLI’s wide range of high-quality activity, from employment services to manufacturing, welfare, healthcare and housing.
RBLI is committed to putting the customer at the heart of its businesses, recruiting only people who are passionate about people and achieving excellence in customer service.

Entrepreneur of the Year - Gerard Coleman, Artisan du chocolat, Ashford
Gerard Coleman founded a business that chocoholics adore - and a world class company here in the heart of Kent.

High quality, innovative product development, local sourcing and sharp commercial acumen are the main ingredients of this flourishing multi-million pound business that combines production with retail.

Artisan du Chocolat is recognised as one of the finest and most innovative chocolatiers in the UK with a growing international reputation. It is sold in its own shops, as well as through blue chip names such as Fortnum and Mason, Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, British Airways and Virgin Airways, not to mention Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant in London.

Artisan opened a concession in Selfridges in Oxford Street, London, in November 2008 and a standalone shop in Notting Hill in 2009. It aims to open another overseas. Judges said “Innovation, obsession about quality and creative excellence are at the core of the business,”

Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Kate Austen, Podplus, Ashford
Kate Austen was described by the judges as Passionate, committed, self-taught, focused with clarity of vision. They said that Kate is a young person “with all the attributes needed to achieve in business.”

Kate set up Podplus in 2005 to unite sports retail and professional services. It is based at the Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford. Podplus provides a selection of footwear, clothing and accessories designed for activity.

It combines retailing with a multi-disciplinary injury clinic for sports and non-sports people, offering podiatry, chiropody, physiotherapy, sports therapy and massage. It employs five part-time staff and six self-employed practitioners.