Previous winners 2023
Take a look back at the Winners of the C2S Business Awards 2023!
Category sponsor
Best Place to Work Award 2023
The Winner is...
From humble beginnings, National Star has grown into a charity with a national reputation for delivering First-class Education and Residential Accommodation for adults with disabilities.
The charity employs more than 1,200 staff in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Wales.
Growing their own talent is something that is at the heart of the charity. As former recipients of the Princess Royal Training Award, The charity invests heavily in Personal development.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Change Management and Innovation Award 2023
The Winner is...
Hartpury University and Hartpury College are a specialist education provider located in the heart of Gloucestershire. Home to over 4,500 students, Hartpury offers PhDs, postgraduate and undergraduate degrees, diplomas in sport, equine, animal, agriculture, veterinary nursing and A-levels.
This year marks their 75th anniversary. The Agri-Tech Centre at Hartpury, provides experience in smart farming technologies and has formed a strong network of farmers who wish to stay up to date with agri-tech developments.
The success of the Digital Innovation Farm demonstrates Hartpury’s unique position as a catalyst for real change and innovation as it leads the way in developing novel approaches to working with local and regional enterprises and becomes an industry lead for the advancement of agriculture technology, cyber security and data management across the whole of the UK.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Community Award 2023
The Winner is...
There were so many fantastic entries for this category that judges found it difficult to decide on one winner, so, agreed to award a first prize to an oraganisation that does great work in the community and award a first prize to a campaign that stands out from the rest.
Barnwood Limited is made up of 3 divisions – Construction, Shop Fitting and Interiors & General Works. Delivering a positive social impact is one of Barnwood’s core values. As an Employee Ownership Trust, they have established an Employee Representative Board to promote and implement their Community Engagement initiatives. They organise many fundraising activities, such as bake sales, raffles, and Employee-initiated events. They are active in educating young people, offering advice and support to older generations looking to retrain, donating to food banks, providing financial donations to many worthwhile organisations, volunteering and much more….
Public Hearts. The impactful and life-saving Not- for- Profit community Defibrillator Campaign, has just celebrated the installation of over 55 Defibrillators in and around the Cheltenham community. Having come through the COVID disruption and lockdowns with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment, 35 Defibrillators were installed in just over 12 months. Their legacy is to give Cheltenham and surrounding areas optimal access to these life-saving and life-changing devices in the event of a Cardiac Arrest.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Culture and Diversity Award 2023
The Winner is...
3 years ago during the pandemic, Colin Beard and Josh Issacs had a dream to set up a company that genuinely cared, for the wellbeing of people with disabilities. Fast forward and Prosperity Care and Wellbeing have a team of holistic therapists, they run events that are attend by up to 200 people and deliver around 300 hours per week of direct care and support to people in Gloucestershire and the surrounding counties.
They constantly buck the trend on being short staffed because of their many initiatives to support their people; and a commitment to encouraging people to bring their whole self to work. They are a beacon of best practice and enlightenment, many congratulations to the team at Prosperity Care, long may you continue to reach marginalised groups and work your magic.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Employee of the Year 2023
The Winner is...
Mini Worxx Ltd and its sister companies offer full repairs, servicing and restoration for Minis, attracting customers as far away as Devon, London, the South Coast and North Wales. They pride themselves on their quality of service, customer care, customer relations and aftercare service. Managing Director of Mini Worxx Ltd, Paddy Van Der Moyle said: “Janis deserves to be recognised with the highest honour as an employee because of his exceptional skills and technical knowledge. Janis is a critical employee of this company, as he cares about the work we do, especially the whole customer experience. You’ll often see his name in our customer reviews as he forms close relationships with customers.” The judges commented that every business needed a Janis.
Finalists
Rachel Stephenson
Forge Motorsport
Tracey Boulton
Lakes Bathrooms
Janis Nikovskis
Mini Worxx Limited
Alex Wegrzyn
Switch Health
Emily Redman
Wagada Digital
Category sponsor
Employer of the Year under £15 million 2023
The Winner is...
BPE is unique among law firms in a number of ways from the industry-busting stats on women in senior positions, to the enviable number of global brands it retains as clients. Equality is vitally important to the BPE Culture and investment in people runs through their DNA. Staff surveys are regularly conducted to ask employees how they are feeling and encourage them to contribute to new ideas and initiatives, this ensures that even the most junior team members have a voice.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Employer of the Year over £15 million 2023
The Winner is...
Spirax Sarco are a multi-national engineering group with expertise in the control and management of steam, electric thermal solutions, and associated fluid path technologies. They serve industries as diverse as Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology, Power Generation and Healthcare. They provide essential products and solutions to their customers’ in more than 165 countries, employing nearly 8,000 people with an annual turnover in-excess of £1.6bn in the UK. Their manufacturing facility in the UK being the largest in the Group. They are supported by their strong Culture and Values, that guide their decision-making and inspire them everywhere they operate. Together, they are engineering a difference.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Growth Award 2023
The Winner is...
Cosgrove & Drew create and improve building environments across major projects, Maintenance, Compliance, and F M Solutions. Established in 2013, the business has grown from a two-man start-up in Bristol, to an industry heavyweight. The business achieved a turnover of more than £6 million last financial year and is on course for £10 million this year. Adding 28 new team members, establishing three new service divisions, opening two additional offices, and rolling out their People-First development programme “Skill Build”, makes 2022 – 23 a transformational and Pivotal 12 months for Cosgrove & Drew.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Leadership Award 2023
The Winner is...
30 years ago Terry Edgell set up Premier Forest Products at his home in Cwmbran, with 2 colleagues Nigel Williams and Dilwyn Howells. Today, Terry is CEO of the Group.
Premier is a leading, independent importer and distributor of timber and panel products, operating from multiple sites across the UK with a Head office in Newport, employing over 320 people and with a turnover of over £130m.
Terry’s leadership and strategic vision has shifted the company’s focus from being a pure importer and distributor of timber sheets to offering a much broader range of products to a more diverse group of customers.
Terry’s astute eye for opportunity and quick ability to assess risk and synergies have meant the group have been able to seize opportunities and continually grow organically and through clever acquisitions.
In a world where the CEO can often be remote, Terry consciously rails against that, making time to ensure he stays connected with staff at all levels and regularly travels the country to do this and is repeatedly cited by staff as the best boss they have ever had.
Finalists
Antonia Shield
BPE Solicitors
Lindsey Young
Clarkson Evans
Andrew Hunt
Holiday Architects
Terry Edgell
Premier Forest Products
Kirsty Day
The Nelson Trust
Category sponsor
Sustainability Award 2023
The Winner is...
Commercial has grown from a one-room office start-up in 1991 to become the UK’s largest independently-owned Business Services Group with revenues on course to break the £100 Million barrier in 2025. Since 2006, Commercial’s Mission has been to show that Sustainability can inspire and Drive Growth. They became Carbon Neutral with in a year of that drive beginning, and Total Carbon Emissions were cut by 75% within 3 years. While in 2013 they became the first business in their Sector to become Zero Waste to Landfill. Sustainability and creating Social Value remain at the heart of Commercial’s operations with an ambitious plan to achieve Carbon Net Zero by 2028. Commercial are proud to be Planet Mark Certified and hold Eco Vadis Gold Standard, marking them one of the top 5% of organisations for Sustainability Worldwide. They are Signatories to the UN Global Compact and currently adhere to 16 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
Finalists
Category sponsor
Talent, Training and Development Award 2023
The Winner is...
Cosgrove & Drew were stablished in 2013 and the business has grown from a two-man start-up in Bristol, to an industry heavyweight employing 48 people committed to employer excellence. They are proud of their high staff retention and reputation for a supportive and progressive culture. They have a 2 year staff satisfaction rate of 96% and an average retention rate of 92%. In 2022 they launched a company-wide training and development pathway Skill Build, enabling every single member of the Cosgrove & Drew team to reach their full potential.
Finalists
