The Stray Ferret Business Awards saw 11 finalists, and one very lucky prize winner, crowned the winners of their categories.

The winners shared their reactions in the LCF LAW Winner’s Lounge.

Here is what some of them had to say.

The Golden Ticket Prize

Winner: Millie Rae

Millie Rae, of Cloud NINE, was crowned the winner of our Heads or Tails game, winning herself an overnight stay in the Presidential Suite and dinner at Grantley Hall.

In the LCF Law Winner’s Lounge, Millie said:

‘I’m very, very happy.

“We were playing heads or tails and I changed my mind at the last minute, and I managed to win! I’ll take my boyfriend with me…if he’s nice!”

Dynamic Leader Award – sponsored by Succession Wealth

Winner: Ian Baker, The Soundproofing Store

Ian Baker, founder and managing director of The Soundproofing Store, won first place in our Dynamic Leader Award.

Ian Baker with Clare Frisby (L) and Lawrence King of Succession Wealth (R)

In the LCF Law Winner’s Lounge, Ian said:

“My team put me up for this, I had nothing to do with it and I feel absolutely amazed”.

“I’ve always liked to treat people as you’d wish to be treated yourself — that’s what I always try to do”.

Best Independent Retailer Award – sponsored by the York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub

Winner: TravelGate

TravelGate is an independent travel agency in Harrogate. The company won the Best Independent Retailer Award.

Clare Frisby (L) with the TravelGate team and James Farrar, of York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub (R)

Melanie and Phil, in the LCF Law Winner’s Lounge, said:

“We are absolutely overwhelmed to have received this award.

It means so much to us – thank you to everybody”.

“There were some fabulous businesses in this category, so it is incredible to recognised”.

Digital Innovation Award – sponsored by ASE Computer Services

Winner: Strive Group

Strive Group is a connected experience agency in Harrogate.

The company took home the crown for Digital Innovation.

Clare Frisby (L) with the Strive Group team and Chris Dickinson of ASE Computers (R)

In the LCF Law Winner’s Lounge, Director Alistair Grant said:

“It felt awesome to be up on that stage and accept the award for the company”.

“There is such strength of talent in Harrogate and we wanted to show the local community the great opportunities here”.

The Stray Ferret would like to thank everyone who entered the awards and everyone who attended our event.

Thank you to all our sponsors, including all the businesses supporting our individual categories, and our lead sponsor, Prosperis.

Keep an eye on our site and social media over the coming days to see more news and photographs from the awards ceremony.

The Stray Ferret Business Awards, sponsored by Prosperis, will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. Early bird tickets are available until February 9. The event will celebrate success and business excellence across the Harrogate district. It’s a night not to be missed! There’ll be a fabulous prize draw for all attending and Richard Flinton, the incoming Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council, is guest speaker. 

Global hair and beauty brand, Cloud Nine, has opened two new studios at its Harrogate headquarters, bringing all previously outsourced photo and video shoots in-house.

The beauty company says the aim of the new studio is to develop the creative, commercial and media skills of its team.

The hair and skin stylist area has mirrors and lights with different coloured walls to suit models with different skin tones. There’s also a Green Room designed for the models and guests to relax in before and after each shoot.

CEO Martin Rae, who launched the business with his brother, Gavin, in 2009, said:

“We have created our own studios for two very good reasons. The first is we have a fantastically talented team based within our Harrogate headquarters, who are eager to create their own campaigns, from inception through to execution”.

“And secondly, harnessing the artistic skills of our own people makes perfect business sense, and will benefit us commercially”.

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Knaresborough business group supports Ukraine

A lorry full of of medical equipment, blankets and warm clothing, supplied Knaresborough charity PhysioNet and the town’s Rotary Club, is due to arrive in Ukraine today.

The lorry left Knaresborough five days ago and has made its way to Zaporizhzhia in the South East of Ukraine.

Knaresborough Rotary President and Chairman of Physionet, David Kaye, said:

“This is the sixth PhysioNet consignment for Ukraine. The £6,000 transport costs have been paid for entirely by Rotary in Yorkshire”.

PhysioNet was founded in 2005 by Knaresborough Rotarian Peter Thompson.

It collects and refurbishes discarded mobility and physiotherapy equipment – including wheelchairs, Zimmer frames, crutches and walking sticks – and redistributes it for use by the disabled in developing countries.

PhysioNet and Rotary volunteers gave up their Saturday morning to load the lorry for Zaporizhzhia.

Business Breakfast is sponsored by Harrogate law firm Truth Legal.

Prosperis, the Knaresborough based financial advisors and employee benefit consultants, are to be the main sponsor of the Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023.

Managing Director of Prosperis, Niall Gunn said:

“We’re delighted to be the main sponsor of the Stray Ferret Business Awards.  As a leading corporate consultancy working across Yorkshire, we know there is so much best practice in the Harrogate district to celebrate and highlight.

“The event promises to be a great occasion – the judging panel is impressive and I’m sure competition for each award will be stiff.”

The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2023 will be held on 9 March 2023.

If your business, team or staff member has an award winning story to tell then now is your time to shine!

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Harrogate law firm McCormicks Solicitors has appointed a new Partner.

David Birks (left) joins as head of the commercial disputes and sports litigation team which offers a wide range of litigation services to both individuals and businesses across the region as well as nationally.

Before becoming a solicitor Mr Birks headed up the North Yorkshire Trading Standards Consumer Advice Team and Special Investigations team, dealing with regulatory matters and specialising in anti-counterfeiting matters.

Senior Partner Peter McCormick OBE said:

“We are delighted to welcome David on board, bringing as he does in-depth expertise in a complex area of law which is a key focus for the practice.”

Mr Birks has experience in sports disputes, including arbitrations, tribunals and FA, Premier League and EFL regulatory matters. His specialisms include insolvency (individual and corporate) and Directors Disqualification Act Proceedings.

The owner of a family-run nursery chain, which is set to launch a new setting in Harrogate, says he is preparing to “get stung” by rising energy prices.

Matthew Dawson, director of Children’s Corner Childcare, said he had already seen a significant rise in energy bills at his six Leeds nurseries over the last 18 months – including almost double in some cases.

The nursery is set to open a branch at Central House, on Otley Road, in April, when the price hike is introduced.

Mr Dawson said:

“We have several utilities contracts due to run out in the coming months and as such are likely to get stung by the ever increasing costs of keeping our buildings warm.

“This is especially important when looking after young children as we do and not something where corners can be cut.

“Our newest site in Harrogate has a number of obstacles in terms of its energy efficiency which are going to have to be addressed.”

Mr Dawson said the nursery was going to have “the most energy efficient heating system we could find” installed to help mitigate rising costs, as well as investing in insulating the building further.

He added:

“This will not only reduce our ongoing energy bills, but also to reduce our environmental impact as well.

“This will come at a significant cost to the business at a time when margins are squeezed ever tighter by other increasing extraneous costs.”

£80 a month more to pay

For Knaresborough family-of-three, the Hobsons, the energy bills are set to go up by at least £80 per month.

Regional sales director Mike Hobson, who lives with his wife Hannah and their eight-year-old daughter Grace, said:

“This isn’t sustainable and it is now eating into other areas of living costs, especially with all the extra expenditure at the moment, including inflation.

“We were paying £160 a month and we are now paying £240 – for a family-of-three, that’s an extra £1,000 a year.”

From left to right, Grace, Hannah and Mike Hobson, from Knaresborough.

However, the price hike is not just set to hit families and homeowners, with the majority of residents across the Harrogate district set to feel the pinch.

Read more:

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Catherine Aletta, a junior digital designer at Cloud Nine, which is based at Hornbeam Park, rents a two-bedroom flat near Harrogate town centre with her partner.

She said:

“Energy prices are already a big chunk of monthly outgoings. As prices are set to rise even further, we are both concerned that it will have a big impact on us. The monthly bills are already a consideration to our lifestyle and if they do go up, we will have to start looking at how we possibly cut back on other things.

“We are both very conscious of our energy consumption and do our best to reduce our usage to keep the monthly bills manageable. We use the timer to restrict the amount of time the heating is on, we turn off lights as we leave rooms and make sure we don’t leave the TV on when we are not watching it.

“We have lived in our apartment for six months and we have noticed that the prices have already gone up. Obviously we have had the heating on quite a lot in recent months due to the cold weather, but it is a concern for next winter. If the prices go up even further, we will start to struggle.”

Catherine Aletta.

The price rise comes after the energy regulator, Ofgem, lifted the maximum rate that suppliers can charge for an average duel-fuel energy tariff by £693 — an increase of 54 per cent.

This is to reflect the fourfold increase in energy market prices over the last year.