Archant Thames Gateway Business Awards

THE 12th annual Archant London, Thames Gateway Business Awards, were held on Friday 6th November 2009, at the art deco inspired Troxy London.

Finalists were invited along to this glittering event, hosted by BBC Journalist, Louisa Preston and radio presenter David ‘Kid’ Jensen, with guest speaker, Jim Fitzpatrick, Minister of State at DEFRA to hear who would be announced winner of these prestigious awards.

The event itself and entry process, was a welcome triumph, over what can only be described as “challenging economic conditions” throughout 2009. The popularity of the awards, and abundance of entries, was overwhelming, considering the tough trading conditions that small and medium sized businesses faced, and showed the true spirit with which these businesses have fought to survive.

Enzo Testa, Executive Managing Director of Archant London commented ‘We are proud to do all we can to support, encourage and promote businesses within the many local areas we cover. The rich mix of successful businesses across The Thames Gateway region make our communities, places we can be proud of. To this end, we are pleased to have organised this event.’

Archant London spent six months promoting the event to local businesses, in an attempt to reward entrepreneurial skills and the passion for success that exists across the Thames Gateway area.

The results speak for themselves. A record number of entries were received from all manner of local businesses. From restaurants, to graphic design companies, and from one man bands, to local businesses employing in excess of 100 people. The time and effort that was put into compiling entries was outstanding, and Archant London and headline sponsor, HSBC, were delighted with the response.

Each of the 15 winners, walked away with not only the accolade of being some of the best businesses in the area, but Archant London put up a prize fund to be shared equally amongst all the winners. The prize, which can be spent on marketing and advertising campaigns with Archant London, re-enforced Archant’s commitment to local businesses, and will no doubt come at a time when some businesses are faced with the threat of having to review marketing budgets.

Livis Ltd were the winners of the Innovation award for our Livis Safety Systems Safety Barrier. The Barrier is revolutionizing the way planned works are carried out on the London Underground Network. The Barrier will allow works to be carried out faster and will save millions on the cost of the work. With minor adaptations the Barrier could be used in other environments such as Airports and Ports for example.