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Businesses in Kent
celebrate at KEiBA 2009.

by business editor
Trevor Sturgess

Enterprises and
individuals across the county are celebrating glory in the
first-ever Kent Excellence in Business
Awards.

On a glittering night in the
elegant setting of Leeds Castle, nine organisations and three
entrepreneurs stepped up to receive a handsome glass trophy crafted
by Maidstone artist Annie Ross.

The inaugural awards, jointly run
by Kent County Council and KM Group, attracted 500 guests to the
county’s business night of the year.

Around 200 enterprises entered the
awards, with 33 finalists representing the cream of Kent business
competing for the prizes.

Graham Webb, chairman of the
judges, said: "The KEiBAs are the premier benchmark of business
success, demonstating the excellence across our county’s commercial
life. The glass trophy is a coveted symbol of that achievement.
Well done to all the finalists. You are an inspiration to us
all."

A selection of pictures from a
glittering night at Leeds Castle, including all the winners.

See
more...

Geraldine Allinson, chairman of the KM Group, added: "We've been
reporting business achievements for 150 years and that's why
staging these awards is a key part of what we do."

Chairman of judges Graham Webb said: "These are good times to be
in Kent, underlined by the KeiBAs."

It was a special occasion for
Geoff Miles, who with business partner Rowland
Kinch, bought the Maidstone Studios for £4.25m and transformed its
fortunes.

The former BBC producter of hit
shows such as Top of the Pops, The Generation Game and Blankety
Blank, has injected money, energy and vigour into a site that under
different ownership might not have survived as a media beacon.

It has become a premier location
for top shows such as Question Time. A Song for Europe and Trisha.
It develops local talent and underlines media as a pre-eminent Kent
business sector.

But Mr Miles is much more thant a
media entrepreneur, involving himself in voluntary activities
promoting the Kent economy and the local film industry. As a Kent
Ambassador, he waves the flag. "From a business point of view, it’s
a fantastic place to be. Kent plc has a great future."

Other individual awards in the
inaugural KEiBAs went to Gerard Coleman, founder
of Artisan du Chocolat, the Ashford chocolate maker that featured
on The Apprentice (he was named Entrepreneur of the Year), and
Kate Austen, Young Entrepreneur of the Year who
founded Podplus, a combined sporting footwear and medical treatment
business, in Ashford.

Chatham Historic
Dockyard celebrated its 25th anniversary by being named
named Best Leisure and Tourism Business.

Royal British Legion
Industries (RBLI) has another trophy to add to its bulging
cabinet by lifting the Customer Service and Commitment Award.

RBLI has opened up new pathways of
hope for people with disability or on incapacity benefit, finding
them work in its own factory at Aylesford or with other employers
across the county.

Hythe-based Holiday
Extras, a made-in-Kent firm that has seen phenomenal
demand growth for its holiday add-ons such as airport car parking
and travel insurance, was named Employer of the Year, while
Denne Construction, a 200-year old building firm
now based in Sittingbourne, clinched the Large Business of the Year
Award.

Film maker and specialist equipment
hire business Courtyard Studios, Hollingbourne,
was named Best Business from the Creative Industries. Home
Service Complete Care, Deal, one of Kent’s largest
providers of home care and support, scooped Best Social Care
Business Award.

Tunbridge Wells law firm
Cripps Harries Hall works closely with local good
causes and was rewarded with the Business Commitment to the
Community Award.

English Wines
Group, Tenterden, famous for its award-winning Chapel Down
wines, was SME Business of the Year, while Red Alert
Telecare, Ashford, which helps vulnerable people with
hi-tech communication systems, was Start-up Business of the
Year.

• For more on the winning companies, see our special report.