Plymouth’s pride – 12 businesses that won major awards in 2021

It’s been another rollercoaster of a year and with the Covid pandemic still affecting the economy the future is, once again, uncertain. Yet even in these difficult times there are businesses which have triumphed against the odds. So here we look at a dynamite dozen Plymouth ventures that won important awards in 2021, proving that there will always be resilient businesses that will rise to a challenge.

Dorcas Media

At Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Awards at Rockbeare Manor, in Devon, Plymouth’s Dorcas Media Ltd was recognised and secured a Silver Award for its work supporting the Armed Forces Covenant.

The ERS Silver Award is the second-highest badge of honour presented to organisations that have pledged their support through the Armed Forces Covenant and demonstrated a high level of support to the Armed Forces community through their normal business practices. Dorcas Media is now a Bronze and Silver badge holder.

Meanwhile, the PR Agency was also shortlisted for the National Business Chameleon honour at the #SMENationals Business Awards at Wembley Stadium, in London. It was nominated for its PR work in adapting its media services during the Covid-19 crisis.

Service Design Solution Ltd

The South West engineering consultancy won the SME Business of the Year award at the Plymouth Live Business Awards, after seeing turnover hit a record £5.64m and continued expansion after cracking the healthcare market.

Plymouth-headquartered Service Design Solution Ltd (SDS) has just opened an office in Cardiff and is looking for more contracts in the medical sector after successfully working on the Nightingale Hybrid Facility, in Exeter, during the Covid pandemic.

SDS, which specialises in mechanical and electrical engineering, has its main base at the Millfields, Stonehouse, and also has offices in Exeter and Bristol and opened in the Welsh capital in September 2021.

YGS Landscapes

Plymouth’s YGS Landscapes won a British Association of Landscaping Industries (BALI) Award for its Living Wall in Sherford.

Locals to Sherford and Plymouth will be familiar with the towering green expanse that welcomes you to the new town of Sherford. This living wall has been nationally recognised, winning the category of Living Wall Installation (Exterior) in the BALI National Landscape Awards.

The wall was created as part of Sherford’s commitment to sustainability and contributes to the green infrastructure of the city, encouraging greater biodiversity for Plymouth. Measuring 10m high, this green wall is one of the biggest in Europe.

The National Landscape Awards will physically celebrate 79 award-winning landscaping schemes across the country on their Awards Night in London. YGS Landscapes were one of the 17 winners who were first time entrants to the awards.

Marine Biological Association

An independent standard specialized on improving energy efficiency and sustainability in laboratories has awarded the Marine Biological Association LEAF accreditation – the first granted to a marine biology institute in the UK.

The Marine Biological Association (MBA), based in Plymouth, has earned two bronze LEAF accreditations (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) in recognition of staff commitment to reduce waste and increase energy efficiency in laboratories.

The Cell and Molecular and the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) laboratories which specialize in studying microscopic ocean lifeforms have achieved bronze for their efficient waste management and energy consumption.

The Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey (CPR) is the longest running and most geographically extensive marine survey in the world – 2021 marked the 90th year of CPR data.

Mayflower Marina

Plymouth’s Mayflower Marina won The Yacht Harbour Association’s 2021 Coastal Marina of the Year Award (over 250 berths). Voted for by members of the public and marina berth holders, the Marina of the Year awards focus on the quality of the marina facilities and the customer service provided by marina staff. The awards were announced in a virtual award ceremony at the Southampton Boat Show.

The Marina of the Year Award comes on the back of Mayflower Marina retaining it’s 5 Gold Anchor status. This externally assessed accreditation was confirmed after an extensive review of the marina by assessors from The Yacht Harbour Association.

The internationally recognised award is highly regarded with its objective of raising standards and providing customer centric services. Mayflower Marina is one of just over 100 marinas in the world currently achieving 5 Gold Anchor status, highlighting its high standard of facilities, its commitment to customer service excellence and operational competence.

Thomas Westcott

Thomas Westcott Chartered Accountants is celebrating after retaining its Investors in People accreditation for 25 years. The fast-growing South West accountancy firm has been awarded silver following the latest review carried out by the national accreditor.

Investors in People (IIP) sets the standard for people management, awarding employers for excellence in leading and supporting their staff. Thomas Westcott, which has its headquarters in Plymouth, first achieved IIP accreditation in 1996 and has now retained its silver status, which it was first awarded in 2017.

The latest IIP review puts Thomas Westcott in the top third of accredited firms in the accountancy and finance sector in the UK only narrowly missing out on achieving a gold level award.

Companies are awarded IIP accreditation based on independent research across a range of areas. The IIP report praised Thomas Westcott for “looking after staff personally and professionally” across its large network of offices and making improvements in several areas, including leading and inspiring people.

Gaia Spa

Gaia Spa, at the five-star Boringdon Hall Hotel in Pl;ymouth, has been named Best Destination Spa in the UK and Ireland at the 2022 Condé Nast Johansens Awards for Excellence.

Celebrating five years in 2021, the win is Gaia Spa’s third Condé Nast Johansens award, having previously been named Best Destination Spa in 2017 and 2020.

The annual award winners, which were announced in November, are voted for by the public and celebrate excellence in the spa industry.

Gaia Spa is the flagship spa of South West-based natural skincare and spa brand GAIA Skincare, which boasts a growing portfolio of 10 spa affiliates across the UK, including Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa in the Cotswolds and Cary Arms in Devon – both of which were also named in this year’s awards for Best for Green Practices & Sustainability and Readers’ Award respectively.

Need-A-Cab

Plymouth-based Need-A-Cab has won the silver award in the Business Diversification category of the Professional Driver QSi Awards.

Professional Driver editor Mark Bursa said: “When Uber announced it would be giving work to local cab firms, many operators were sceptical. But Need-A-Cab didn’t run away – instead it ran towards the fire. Sensing an opportunity rather than a threat, it became the first company to work with the ride-hailing giant. And the decision has paid off, with growing work and drivers returning to work for the company at a time when recruitment is difficult.”

Professional Driver magazine’s QSi Awards ceremony was a night to remember for the cream of Britain’s chauffeur and private hire operators. The awards, open to every chauffeur and private hire company in the UK, are designed to recognise operators and individuals that demonstrate excellent standards of quality, service and innovation.

Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented in 10 categories at a thrilling event, held at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales. Need-A-Cab was also shortlisted in two other categories – the Community Award and the Business of the Year for 81-plus Vehicles.

Plymouth Gin

Plymouth Gin, based at the Black Friars Distillery on the Barbican, was awarded Quality Food and Drink 2020-2021 in the VisitEngland Visitor Attraction Awards.

The award winners are recognised as outstanding visitor experiences within the UK. Visitors can sample Plymouth Gin in The Refectory Bar and Cocktail Lounge and take a tour of the distillery, the oldest working gin distillery in England, to find out how its made.
Plymouth Gin is owned by Pernod Ricard. The building dates to the early 1400s, with the most intact part of the distillery, the Refectory Room – a medieval hall with a fine hull-shaped timber roof built in 1431, being one of the oldest buildings in Plymouth. It is thus protected as a national monument and is one of the city’s most precious heritages.

Acronyms

Plymouth’s Acronyms won Small Business of the Year at the Devon and Plymouth Chamber Awards. The ceremony, at Buckfast Abbey, saw Acronyms also come highly commended in the Digital Business of the Year and Customer Commitment Award.

The Devon and Plymouth Chamber awards recognise the outstanding achievements of businesses in the county across the course of the year.

In recognising Acronyms, the judging panel was impressed with the IT consultancy’s commitment to local talent and supporting the local jobs market and also for its recent rapid growth outside of the South West.

Nuffield Health Plymouth Hospital

Nuffield Health Plymouth Hospital has been named as a National Joint Registry (NJR) Quality Data Provider after successfully completing a national programme of local data audits.

The NJR monitors the performance of hip, knee, ankle, elbow and shoulder joint replacement operations to improve clinical outcomes primarily for the benefit of patients, but also to support orthopaedic clinicians and industry manufacturers.

The registry collects high quality orthopaedic data in order to provide evidence to support patient safety, standards in quality of care, and overall cost-effectiveness in joint replacement surgery.

To achieve the award, hospitals are required to meet a series of six ambitious targets during the audit period 2019/20, including compliance with the NJR’s mandatory national audit aimed at assessing data completeness and quality within the registry.

Extra Help

Extra Help, a domestic home help service based in Plymouth, is celebrating after winning the Game Changer award, sponsored by the British Business Bank, at the British Chambers of Commerce’s annual Chamber Business Awards 2021.

The event, now in its 17th year, is one of the showpieces of the business calendar, highlighting the role of companies in delivering growth and prosperity for the UK and local communities.

The judges were impressed with the firm’s ability to continue to expand its franchise model throughout the South-West despite the impact of the pandemic over the last 18 months.

The company, a member of the Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, was a stand-out example of how firms can continue to flourish by adapting to the changing business conditions caused by the pandemic.