Last week was the annual Wyre Business Awards in which BES Utilities MD Andy Pilley was on the judging panel.

1. WYRE BUSINESS AWARDS BLOG
Withour first-rate customerservice andmanymarket-leadingproducts BESlovesnothingmore than
servingand supportingbusinesses acrossthe UK.
Andin these challengingeconomictimes itiscertainly hearteningto hearhow many companies –
bothlarge and small – are not onlysurviving,butthriving.
Nowhere isthatmore evidentthaninthe Lancashire boroughof Wyre – BES’shome for more than a
decade.
AndyPilleyand Michelle Davidson foundedBESbackin 2002 andhave expandedthe company to
where itistoday – a leadingsupplierof gas,electricityandtelecomstothe UK’snon-commercial
market.
We are proud to have our base inFleetwoodfromwherewe now employmore than400 people,
makingBES one of the largestprivate sectoremployersonthe beautiful Fyldecoast.
So itwas certainlyanhonourfor our MD Andy to be calledontothe judgingpanel forthisyear’s
Wyre BusinessAwards2015 whichwere presentedlastweek.
The event,sponsoredbyThe Royal Bankof Scotland,wasa glamorousblack-tie eventatMarine Hall,
Fleetwood,attendedbybusinessesfromacrossWyre,partnerorganisations andeventsponsors.
There were more than 100 nominationsforthe awardsacross 12 differentcategories,recognisinga
wide variety of businessesfrommajorchemical firmstofamily-ownedboutiques.
Andysaid:"There have beensome wonderful businesssuccessstoriesoverthe lastyearandit is
certainly hearteningtosee howmanybusinessesare thrivingrightnow.
"It has beenwidely reported justhowtoughtimesare outthere and recentfiguresfromthe Office
of National Statisticsrevealedthat246,000 businessescloseddownin2014 – 3.5% more thanin
2013.
"But on the flipside of this,figuresalsoshow 351,000 new businesseswere createdin2014, 1%
more than inthe previousyearandthe highestnumbersince recordsbeganin2000.
"That showsthere isconfidence outthere andpeopleare determined tomake theirbusiness
dreamsa reality.This iswhyawardssuch as the Wyre BusinessAwardsare soimportant in
recognisingthose businesses, andthe people behindthem,whoare reallymakingadifference.
"There are some extremelytalentedentrepreneurswho,overthe lastyear,have takentheir
businessestoa newlevel byexpandingwhichmeansmore jobs andprosperity forlocal people.
"Asa majorlocal employerourselves,itwasgreatto see ourethosof supportinglocal communities
by employinglocal people beingfollowed bysomanyotherbusinesses.
"Yes,we have experiencedsome extremelytoughtimes,butthroughthe dedicationand
commitmentof these local businesseshere inWyre,andindeedacrossthe UK,we are able to make
major,positive impactsonourlocal communities.
“I wishall those involvedinthese awardscontinuedsuccess.”

2. The winnersof Wyre BusinessAwards2015:
- Home Based/online businessof the year – SponsoredbyRegenda - Preesall Preserves
- Familybusinessof the year- LightAshFarm
- NewBusinessof the year- Jasmine'sBoutique
- CommunityInvolvementAward–SponsoredbyRegenda–AGCChemicalsEurope
- GreenBusinessof the year - The FishHouse
- Micro Businessof the year– The Little Blue HenSoapCraftingCompany,andH2 Photography
- Apprentice of the year- AshleyRoche –FTFC and doingApprenticeshipwithMyerscough
- Retailerof the year– sponsoredbymainsponsorRoyal Bank of Scotland - BowlandOutdoors
- SME of the year– sponsoredbyRoyal Bankof Scotland - BuildersSupplies(WestCoast) Ltd
- BestTourismAccommodationproviderof the year - BreckApartments
- TourismEventof year- Fylde CoastFoodand DrinkFestival
- Special Recognition - Henna'sHappyHounds,NorthernRagsandVMS solutions
ENDS