Press Release
2009 BUSINESS AWARDS
2 July 2009
The Crown Estate has today, Thursday 2 July 2009, announced the winner of their 2009 Business Award scheme.
Now in their fourth year, The Crown Estate Business Awards are designed to recognise excellence in business performance, innovation, environmental care and sustainability. These areas complement The Crown Estate’s core values of commercialism, integrity and stewardship.
The awards operate in each of The Crown Estate’s business areas – marine, rural and urban – and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to encouraging the development of successful, innovative and sustainable business.
Marine Business Award
The winner of the Marine Business Award is Dean & Reddyhoff, Portland Marina.
Dean & Reddyhoff Marinas’ new 560-berth marina at Portland, Dorset, opened for business in April 2009. The marina, which will form part of the venue for hosting the sailing events for the London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, has contributed to the regeneration of a former Royal Naval site disused since the late 1990s.
New facilities, including a waterside bar and restaurant, and a public walkway, have transformed the appearance of the site. With twenty new business units plus an anticipated 600 boat owners requiring marine services and supplies, the new marina is expected to generate over 150 jobs for local people bringing huge economic benefits to Weymouth and Portland and helping create a longer term legacy for Portland.
The judges felt that this development would help to transform the economy of the area for the benefit of the local community and were particularly impressed with the approach taken by Dean & Reddyhoff to develop, maintain and promote the highest environmental standards within the marina.
Rural Business Award
The Rural Business Award has been won by the Hobsons of Woodhouse Grange Farm on The Crown Estate’s Derwent Estate in Yorkshire.
Brothers Nick and Chris Hobson’s family have farmed at Woodhouse Grange Farm at Sutton upon Derwent since the 1930’s with Nick Hobson succeeding his father’s tenancy in 2001. The well established roots of the Hobson family at Derwent also extend to the Woodhouse Grange Cricket Club which was created by Nick and Chris’s grandfather for the 80 or so men who worked his farm.
The farming business trades as T.H. Hobson Limited and is run by both Nick and Chris Hobson. They have developed a strong and sustainable business mix focusing on arable, dairy and commercial enterprises.
The Hobsons have also diversified their business with the help of The Crown Estate by converting redundant traditional farm buildings into office space. Features of the offices include heat exchange cooling/heating, solar panels and rain water harvesting.
The judges felt Nick and Chris Hobson embrace modern farming techniques which complement their forward thinking business acumen. Through adding value to the already varied enterprise mix, they are well placed for weathering the current economic uncertainty and fluctuating commodity prices.
Urban Business Award
The Urban Business Award has been given to BBH.
BBH is a creative advertising agency with six offices around the world, including one on Kingly Street part of The Crown Estate’s Regent Street portfolio.
BBH’s skillset as a creative communications business lies in understanding people and how to make them change behaviours. BBH have applied these skills to themselves and created a unique set of environmental sustainability and community development programmes that motivate every person throughout the organisation to change their personal behaviours for the better.
In the summer of 2008, the entire UK agency took a day out to dedicate time to work on charity projects around London, including working with the elderly, volunteering at community centres, repainting schools, doing building maintenance, gardening in public spaces and providing art therapy.
BBH are very focused on environmental sustainability with a series of programmes to motivate staff to be more environmentally friendly by encouraging them to change their behaviour around energy use, recycling, carbon emissions when travelling to and from work and meetings, and the use of plastic bags.
The judges commented: “We were impressed by BBH’s strong community focused ethos, their commitment to driving environmental sustainability and encouraging volunteering amongst their employees. These priorities are aligned with The Crown Estate’s values of commercialism, integrity and stewardship.”
Roger Bright, Chief Executive of The Crown Estate, said: “I am delighted to be able to announce the winners of The Crown Estate Business Awards 2009. It is wonderful that we are, yet again, publicly rewarding our customers’ successful businesses right across The Crown Estate.
“This year’s competition was very strong and the winners should feel rightly proud of their achievements. They have all demonstrated exemplary business acumen and foresight tackling the challenges their businesses faced with innovative solutions and excellent commercial results.”
The winners will be presented with their prizes – specially designed trophies – at a lunchtime reception at Lancaster House, London on Wednesday 8 July 2009, when The Crown Estate’s annual results will also be announced.
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