The calibre of entries was so high that choosing who made the short list for SGGBA 2022 was ‘almost as difficult as trying to decide between your own children’, was how one of the judges summed up the challenge.
A panel of Gloucestershire business leaders and senior figures from the sponsors making this year’s awards possible met for the round-table summit on Wednesday 5 July 2022 in The Papworth Room at The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham to decide this year’s finalists.
And we can now reveal the names of the county companies and individuals in the running for one of the 22 prizes at the SGGBA 2022 awards night on Thursday 20 October 2022.
James Fyrne, managing director of SoGlos, which this year celebrates 15 years in business and is about to reveal a relaunched website, said: ‘We received a staggering 382 nominations from 178 different companies, which we spent a week reviewing to draw up the shortlist.’
Chris Wills, a partner at Willans LLP solicitors, joint-headline sponsor of SGGBA 2022, said: ‘You think you know all the businesses there are to know in Gloucestershire – then you get a list like this and realise there are still so many fantastic businesses out there doing fantastic things whose stories you have yet to hear.’
Ryan Hancock, a director of the corporate services team at Hazlewoods, joint-headline SGGBA sponsor, said: ‘The number and diversity of the nominations, which include many new names, just goes to show how business in Gloucestershire is not only healthy but thriving.
'I’m very much looking forward to meeting the people who are driving them forward and will be following their progress with interest.’
Alex Hathway, commercial director of Nimble, said: ‘The quality of the entries was so good, it was like having to decide between your own children. It was heart-breaking that everyone could not win, but great to see so many brilliant companies.’
Sarah Bryars, chief executive of Target, said: ‘It was a brilliant short list. There were a lot of really great companies on it, which made it really quite difficult to pick the winners.’
Neil Smith, managing director of ReformIT, said: ‘It was a very high-quality list of companies – as was last year – and it is always inspiring to see the depth and breadth of the businesses Gloucestershire has to offer.’
Jo Draper, a director of QuoLux, said: ‘It was almost impossible to judge, the quality of all the entries was so high. The bar gets raised every year, and what so many of these businesses have been doing over the last 12 months is phenomenal.’
Alex Clough, managing director of 16i, the designer of the all-new SoGlos website, said: ‘There were so many creative, dynamic businesses in all the categories it did make it really difficult to judge, but there will be some great winners on the night.’
The judging panel on the day included David Evans from Evans Jones; Paul Sands from Ecotricity; Julie Tegg from Gloucestershire College; councillor Lynden Stowe from Gloucestershire County Council; Mike Goode from GB Solutions; Marcus Gomery from Brunsdon Financial; Alex Dawkins from Roberts Limbrick; Simon Hewer from Hewer FM; Emma Fells from Barclays Bank; Emily Tarbox from Montrose Group; Sophie Thorn from the University of Gloucestershire; Jo Draper from Quolux and Suzanne Deackes from Business Furniture Direct.
For more information about the headline sponsors Willans LLP solicitors visit willans.co.uk and for more information about Hazlewoods visit hazlewoods.co.uk.
SGGBA 2022 categories, sponsors and finalists
New Business of the year
Sponsored by Montrose – montrose.co.uk.
- AccXel Ltd
- Fleet Electric Leasing Ltd
- Montpellier Legal
- PACE Manufacturing Ltd
- Topaz Luxe Ltd
Most Innovative Business of the year
Sponsored by Hartpury – hartpury.ac.uk.
- Cirencester Fabrication Services
- DPS Designs
- Duku
- Golden Valley Development
- Loop BI
- The Protrack Group (Protrack Solutions Limited)
Growth Business of year
Sponsored by The Growth Hub – thegrowthhub.biz.
- Atlas Camps
- Core to Cloud ltd
- Farrar & Tanner
- Kalex Films Ltd
- Stewart Golf Ltd
Family Business of the year
Sponsored by QuoLux – quolux.co.uk.
- Cotteswold Dairy Ltd
- Gloucester Carpet Outlet
- Hobbs House Bakery
- K W Bell Group
- Printwaste Recycling & Shredding
Green Business of the year
Sponsored by Ecotricity – ecotricity.co.uk.
- for peat's sake!
- Freeman Homes
- Howard Tenens Logistics Ltd
- Simply Washrooms
- Stroud Brewery
Best Place to Work of the year
Sponsored by Brunsdon Financial – brunsdonfinancial.co.uk.
- FD Works
- Gloucester City Homes
- Lanes Health
- Radioactive
- Savient Limited
- Wagada Digital
Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Sponsored by Target – target-group.co.uk.
- Charles Russell Speechlys LLP
- Hooray
- ProCook plc
- Savient Limited
- The Cotswold Cup CIC
- Tidal Training Direct Ltd and Public Hearts Cheltenham Defibrillator Campaign
Customer Excellence Award
Sponsored by Nimble – nimble-elearning.com.
- Bamboo Technology Group Limited
- Bennetts Coaches Ltd
- Direct Online Services
- Smart Home Sounds
- Workplace Interiors Co
- WSP Solicitor
International Business of the year
Sponsored by Barclays.
- ALS Mechatronic Ltd
- CloudTamers Ltd
- DPS Designs
- Stewart Golf Ltd
- Wildlife World
Entrepreneur of the year
Sponsored by University of Gloucestershire – glos.ac.uk.
- AccXel Ltd - Nicola Bird
- for peat's sake! - George Davies
- J.LUXE.FIT - Jordan Tuck
- ORNA Inc. - Martyn Gill
- Toddle - Hannah Saunders
Employee of the year
Sponsored by GB Solutions – gbsolutions.co.uk.
- Bamboo Technology Group Limited - Candice de Klerk
- Cheltenham BID - Belinda Hunt
- Room 58 Ltd - Emma Grazier
- St Edward's, Cheltenham - Mrs Pat Hemming
- Wagada Digital - Tzara Marriott
Team of the year
Sponsored by ReformIT – reformit.co.uk.
- Aquascape swimming pools ltd
- Dashing Duck Marketing
- SLG Brands
- The Fireplace Gallery Cheltenham Ltd
- WSP Solicitors
Heritage Business of the year
Sponsored by Hewer FM – hewerfm.co.uk.
- Cattle Country Farm Park
- Cleevely Motors and Cleevely Electric Vehicles
- Hobbs House Bakery
- Lanes Health
- Markey Group
Business Leader of the year
Sponsored by Gloucestershire County Council – gloucestershire.gov.uk.
- Forge Motorsport - Peter Miles
- Gloucester Brewery ltd - Jared Brown
- ProCook - Daniel O'Neill
- Radioactive - Angharad Planells
- The Cheltenham Trust - Laurie Bell
Young Business Leader of the year
Sponsored by Green Gourmet – greengourmet.co.uk.
- AccXel Ltd - Nicola Bird & Natalie Bell
- Hexe Digital Ltd - Anya McKenna
- Nutrition X - James Markey
- Salus Cyber - Jason Kalwa
- Severnside Security Ltd - Kane Lewis
Apprentice of the year
Sponsored by Gloucestershire College – gloscol.ac.uk.
- Gloucestershire Engineering Training - James Ashly
- HR People Support - Hope Ward
- Ontic Engineering & Manufacturing UK Ltd - Karim Ali
- Optimising IT - James Rodgers
- Stagecoach - Matt Hyatt
Public Sector Excellence Award of the year
Sponsored by Roberts Limbrick – robertslimbrick.com.
- Cheltenham Borough Council
- Forest of Dean District Council, Regeneration Department
- Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Gloucestershire Libraries
- Start and Grow Enterprise
- Stroud District Council
Micro Business of the year
Sponsored by Business Furniture Direct – business-furniture-direct.co.uk.
- Bolthole Retreats
- Cleevely Motors and Cleevely Electric Vehicles
- Fire & Flow Coffee
- Kalex Films Ltd
- Non solo pasta ltd
- PACE Manufacturing Ltd
Small Business of the year
Sponsored by HR Star – hr-star.co.uk.
- Brace Creative Agency
- Core to Cloud ltd
- duku
- Hooray
- Salus Cyber
- Stewart Golf Ltd
Medium Business of the year
Sponsored by 16i – 16i.co.uk.
- Atlas Camps
- Bamboo Technology Group Limited
- Hobbs House Bakery
- WSP Solicitors
Large Business of the year
Sponsored by Evans Jones - evansjones.co.uk.
- Cotteswold Dairy
- Direct Online Services
- K W Bell Group
- Markey Group
- ProCook plc
Business of the year
Co-sponsored by Willans LLP solicitors – willans.co.uk – and Hazlewoods – hazlewoods.co.uk.
To be revealed on the night
