2010 Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards’ Winners Announced!
Finalists' group at the Awards Ceremony
The winners of the 2010 Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards were revealed last night at a gala awards ceremony held at Carden Park Hotel, Chester. The Awards were open to charities, social enterprises, businesses and entrepreneurs from Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire, North Wales and the Wolverhampton area.
The winners and runners-up in the six categories won a total of £110k in cash prizes as well as a package of professional services, including free banking advice from the main sponsor Barclays.
The £20,000 first prize in the Best New Business category went to Leaf Tea Shop & Bar in Liverpool, owned by Natalie Haywood. Tea shop by day and a live music venue by night, Leaf Tea Shop & Bar is a place where you sit, relax and chat with like-minded people. They stock a huge number of loose leaf teas and showcase some of the best creative events in the country. Leaf aims to redefine a traditional drink category and bring tea drinking into the 21st century. In a very diverse category, the judges were impressed by Natalie’s clear vision and determination.
Kris McDonald, who established Keyhole Productions, Liverpool won the title of Best Young Entrepreneur and £10,000 for his business. Keyhole Productions is a multimedia company that works with people from disadvantaged backgrounds, offering them the platform and skills to develop their creative dreams. It has different strands, from a youth engagement programme delivering film workshops, to a web platform that showcases unsigned bands, through to a photography studio. The judges thought that 23-year old Kris’s ability to diversify his specialist knowledge showed the entrepreneurship needed to succeed.
The Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise first prize of £12,500 was scooped by Elixir Foundations CIC. Based in Bootle, Elixir Foundations combines social and environmental objectives to create opportunities for vulnerable adults such as ex-offenders, people recovering from addiction and long-term unemployed. Through commercial recycling and social housing activities, they have created 465 jobs, opened two recycling depots and helped over 250 people improve their housing situation. In addition, 95% of ex-offenders have not re-offended since employment. In a very strong category, the judges recognized Elixir’s phenomenal success in providing opportunities for people on the margins of society.
The winner of the Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise in Liverpool category, sponsored Liverpool Vision and with a prize of £10,000, was The Reader Organisation. This charity is dedicated to bringing about a reading revolution. It promotes shared reading as a rehabilitative tool to build community and improve personal mental wellbeing. Beneficiaries include: people suffering deprivation, children in care, young people not in formal education, people with physical or mental health problems and they also work extensively with older people. The charity’s sheer professionalism and innovative way of developing literacy skills united the judges.
Wolverhampton-based Access to Business won the top prize of £12,500 in the Best Business Providing Social and/or Economic Contribution category. Access to Business is a 'not for profit' company established to support people into employment, self employment and training, with a specialism in supporting those with health problems and/or disability. Over the past three years, Access to Business has helped over 2500 clients. Their quiet grit and determination to succeed on behalf of those disadvantaged in the job market made a big impression on the judges.
The Against All Odds category was the emotional climax of the evening, with a prize of £10,000 awarded to the person or organisation that had overcome the biggest obstacles on their path to success. All the finalists were outstanding, but the judges were bowled over by the pragmatic business skills coupled with the vitality and zest for life shown by the winner, Debbie Stone, of Blow Hair and Beauty, Widnes, Cheshire.
At 16 Debbie was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and thought that she wasn’t going to make it past 20. Despite frequent hospitalisation she got a degree and worked in the NHS. However, following the birth of her daughter, ill-health meant she lost her job. The scrap heap was not for her so, since 2006, she has opened two card and gift shops and a hair and beauty salon, with a new one opening November 2010. Frequently having to trade from a hospital bed isn’t easy but can be done. For Debbie, just getting to 32 is an achievement (average life expectancy is 38). But her choice was simple – give up or fight.
Steve Morgan, the founder of the Morgan Foundation, said: “This is the fourth year of the Awards and each time they have got bigger and better; 2010 is no exception. We had more entries than ever before and the finalists were of the highest quality. Inspirational, ambitious, passionate and sheer bloody minded are just a few of the words the judges used to describe them. Judging was very difficult and in many cases it was the smallest of margins separating the winners and runners-up.”
John Powell, Corporate Director Northern Region, Barclays Corporate, said: “Barclays is proud to be the main sponsor of the Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards. Entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy; be they big or small, they generate new ideas, new opportunities and new employment. These Awards are unique. Not only are there substantial cash prizes, there are categories aimed specifically at entrepreneurial charities and organisations that make a social or economic contribution to the region; a sector generally overlooked in the recognition stakes.”
Information about all the winners, runners-up and finalists can be found on the Awards’ website www.mf-awards.co.uk