The winners of the Cotswold Life Family Business Awards 2016 have been revealed

Cotswold Life Business & Professional magazine is dedicated to celebrating family businesses and this year is no exception. With our Family Business Awards now in their 4th year, we reveal the 2016 best family run companies across the Cotswolds…

Family businesses form the backbone of the British economy and we are lucky enough to have hundreds of them here in the heart of our region. As businesses get bigger to meet increasingly global competition, you might think family businesses are in decline, but we find no evidence of this as our list of great Cotswold family businesses continues to grow.

Regardless of industry or size of the business, these awards celebrate family companies, their enterprise, success and the people working within them. Nicky Godding, Cotswold Life Business Editor commented “Family run companies are at the forefront of the local economy and we are proud to be celebrating the huge and unique contribution they make to the Cotswold economy”.

For 2016 we increased the number of award categories and also launched some new ones. Entry numbers, this year, were the highest we have ever had. At the judging meeting, our expert panel debated long and hard to reach the final outcome, with one category so tough judges decided upon two winners.

We are delighted to announce our 2016 winners below who will be recognised in our September issue and we look forward to celebrating with them all at the Family Business Awards winner’s presentation lunch in early September.

2016 Winners

Best Start up Family Business: Spark Brands Ltd

Fastest Growing Family Business: Oxford Products Ltd

Employee of the Year: Rich Powell - Arc Energy Resources Ltd

Family Business Apprentice: Alex Pollard - Clarkson Evans

Next Generation Family Achiever: Joseph Purcaro - Joedan Group

Family Business Long Service Award: Abid Naser - SmartSurvey Ltd

Retail Excellence: Hobbs House Bakery Ltd

Food & Farming Excellence: Cotteswold Dairy

Family Business Exporter of the Year: Batten & Allen & Freeman Technology Ltd

Family Business Longevity Award: Poeton Industries Limited

Corporate Social Responsibility: McGurk Group Ltd