Doncaster Business Awards 2022 Winners Announced at Prestigious Event

Doncaster’s best and brightest were celebrated last night, at a prestigious awards ceremony that was organised by the local Chamber of Commerce.

Honouring the achievements of enterprising individuals and firms from across our city, The Doncaster Business Awards is the largest event of its kind in the entire North of England. It always proves to be a rousing way to end the year and Thursday (which marked the ceremony’s 24th iteration) was no exception, with a collection of outstanding nominees making up the shortlists for 13 diverse categories.

There were accolades for inspiring apprentices, fledgling start-ups, innovative green businesses, caring charities, thriving SMEs and major companies. Having been judged by expert panels and peers from the business community, the winners and respective runners-up in each category were announced during the black-tie event on 1^st December.

There at Doncaster Racecourse, they joined over 900 attendees for a triumphant evening of glitz, glamour, live entertainment and celebration. Speaking of which, this year included a special “Achievement of a Lifetime” award, to commemorate Doncaster being granted City Status.

Reflecting on this, President of Doncaster Chamber, Andy Morley, said: “The past twelve months have been extraordinarily difficult for the UK, with turmoil and challenge presenting itself at seemingly every turn. Places like South Yorkshire have been under immense pressure, however, that has not held our formidable business communities back from accomplishing greatness.

“On the contrary, this was the year that Doncaster finally attained city status. Those who have lived and worked in the region have known for a long time that this was overdue, but it took a lot of effort and extensive collaboration to pull it off.

“In 2022, our businesses, residents and partners all rallied together behind this common goal and we were successful. Earning the civic honour of city status truly is the achievement of a lifetime, not just for any one person or organisation, but for us all. Tonight was the perfect opportunity to recognise this.”

In addition to the awards presentation itself, the ceremony also featured the comedic stylings of hosts The Noise Next Door, several musical performances (courtesy of talented vocalist Ella Jay, harpist Stephanie Halsey, DJ Liv Knight and multi-instrumentalist Richard Ford) and a silent auction.

The proceeds from the latter —which are taken from bids for various luxury items, memorabilia and desirable holidays —will be donated to a pair of charities that were personally selected by the Chamber’s President, Andy Morley. The organisations set to benefit from this fundraising are the RSPCA Doncaster, Rotherham & District Branch, as well as the People Focused Group.

Speaking about the evening as a whole, Dan Fell, Chief Exec of Doncaster Chamber, said: “Year after year, the Business Awards proves to be a consistent highlight in the calendar for me.

“Being in the presence of all of these remarkable firms, who have preserved through great economic hardship and disruption, was deeply inspiring. We all know that the last few years have been tough, but the Doncaster business community has a uniquely resilient spirit and, having witnesses their accomplishments over the past twelve months, I am more convinced than ever that the future is bright.

“The entrepreneurialism, innovation, and determination that I saw from those in the room tonight was truly humbling and as far as I am concerned, all of our impressive finalists could have been worthy winners. It was an honour to celebrate with them.”

The finalists, runners-up and winners for The Doncaster Business Awards are all listed below. You can also read Dan Fell’s speech from the evening here.

Large Business of the Year (Sponsored by Carlton Forest Group)

• SYNETIQ Ltd (Winner)
• Boxes and Packaging (Runner-Up)
• Concorde BGW
• Exceed Learning Partnership
• My Pension Expert
• Venatu Recruitment Group

SME Business of the Year (Sponsored by Orb Recruitment)

• Harrison College (Winner)
• MultiWebMarketing (Runner-Up)
• Bubble Design and Marketing Ltd
• CWE Ltd
• Enviro Electronics
• LJ’s Fashion Boutique

Business Start-Up of the Year (Sponsored by Hentons)

• Skill Step Group Ltd (Winner)
• RISE Adaptions Limited (Runner-Up)
• District Four Design
• Hannah's Happy Hounds
• Leah Bakes
• LJ’s Fashion Boutique

Charity of the Year (Sponsored by Keepmoat Homes)

• Eve Merton Dreams Trust (Winner)
• Active Fusion (Runner-Up)
• CAST
• RSPCA Doncaster
• The Partially Sighted Society
• The Sleep Charity

Green Business of the Year (Sponsored by The University of Sheffield)

• Enviro Electronics (Winner)
• Highland Carbon (Runner-Up)
• SYNETIQ
• Energise Energy Solutions

Apprentice of the Year (Sponsored by Doncaster College and University Centre)

• Polypipe Building Products - Luke Lawson (Winner)
• Aalberts IPS UK Ltd - Jordan Forbes (Runner-Up)
• St Leger Homes - Tom Blackburn
• Venatu Recruitment Group - Barbara Renkiewicz
• Venatu Recruitment Group - Joanna Surzyn
• Venatu Recruitment Group - Laurie Gibbard

Excellence in Customer Service (Sponsored by Atherton Godfrey Solicitors)

• Doncaster Security Operations Centre (Winner)
• Hannah's Happy Hounds (Runner-Up)
• CAST
• Leah Bakes
• My Pension Expert

Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility (Sponsored by Harrison College)

• ORB Recruitment (Winner)
• SYNETIQ Ltd (Runner-Up)
• Curly’s Athletes
• Keepmoat Homes
• Make Your Mark UK

Success Through Partnerships (Sponsored by Ellgia)

• Harrison College (Winner)
• The Sleep Charity (Runner-Up)
• Doncaster Mumbler
• Flourish Enterprises
• Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
• Doncaster UTC

Success Through Innovation and Diversification (Sponsored by King Asia Foods)

• Agemaspark (Winner)
• The Sleep Charity (Runner-Up)
• Doncaster Security Operations Centre
• IPM Group
• Premier Partnership

Excellence in People Development (Sponsored by Polypipe Building Products)

• Home Instead Doncaster (Winner)
• Navartis (Runner-Up)
• Concorde BGW
• My Pension Expert
• Unipart Rail
• Whyy? Change Limited

Business Engaging With Education (Sponsored by Opportunities Doncaster)

• Active Fusion (Winner)
• Polypipe Building Products (Runner-Up)
• Agemaspark Ltd
• Footballerz LTD
• St Leger Homes of Doncaster
• The Harpham Company - Youth Theatre Schools

Marketing Campaign of the Year (Sponsored by Pass Logistics)

• Venatu Recruitment Group (Winner)
• Active Fusion (Runner-Up)
• Multiweb Marketing
• Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber Hospital Trust