A Shropshire PR company is celebrating after scooping a prestigious business award judged by a former BBC Dragon’s Den panellist.
J&PR Ltd, run by directors Rhea Alton and Kirsty Smallman, was crowned Start Up Business of the Year at the Free2Network Business Awards.
Co-director Kirsty, 32, accepted the award on behalf of the business from judge Rachel Elnaugh, the celebrated businesswoman and first female Dragon from the BBC’s hit show, at a glittering awards ceremony in Llandudno on Friday.
Kirsty and Rhea, both former Shropshire Star journalists, launched J&PR Ltd 12 months ago and now have eight others working for them. They are due to move into their new office at The Glebe Centre in Wellington in the next few weeks.
Director Kirsty, from Telford, said: “This is a fantastic award to have won and has topped off an amazing first year in business for Rhea and I – it feels absolutely fantastic.
“It proves that hard work pays off – we have stayed true to our roots and the reasons we set up the business – to give Shropshire’s businesses the chance to access affordable PR.
“Every client says our passion shines through in everything we do – we simply love our jobs and we are extremely proud to represent such amazing businesses.
“We’d like to thank all of our clients for their support because without them the business would not have grown so rapidly. It has been wonderful to grow alongside our clients.”
Rhea, from Shrewsbury, set up her first business, Journalism and PR, in 2009 while Kirsty was crime correspondent at the Shropshire Star until March 2012. The two launched J&PR Ltd in January 2013.
Its services includes press releases, blogs, e-newsletters, website copywriting and social media and PR training courses.
Within two months J&PR boasted more than four times the number of clients Kirsty and Rhea previously had on their books as sole traders, and the size of the clients increased.
Rhea, who will return to the business in January after having her second son, said: “We never expected to win the award as the businesses we were shortlisted against had also become extremely successful in such a short space of time.
“The business has grown organically and as we move into our new office in Wellington within the next few weeks and welcome our latest account manager to the team this week, it is obviously a very exciting time for the J&PR team.”
Rhea and Kirsty were also shortlisted in the national Mumpreneur Awards 2013 and J&PR Ltd was named the “Most Loved PR Company in the UK” and in the top 10 “Most Loved Companies” in Shrewsbury and Telford as part of the national Best Of… 2013 campaign.
Nina Sardar, founder and managing director of Free2Network, was delighted with the success of the event and revealed news that Rachel Elnaugh will be judge again next year.
She said: “It was an outstanding evening and a real tribute to the quality of businesses and business leaders in the UK today. The passion at the dinner was tangible and the delight in winning was so rewarding to see.
“That Rachel has agreed to be involved in the 2014 awards just shows what an exciting journey the 2013 awards have been. The awards evening just topped it all off perfectly.”
Rachel, the first female Dragon of the BBC’s hit business pitch show, described winning awards as an essential part of entrepreneurial spirit.
She said: “It was a real honour to judge and present these awards. The standard of entries was high and shows just how committed and innovative business can be.
“Nina asked me if I would he happy to return next year and I’ve been so inspired by what I’ve seen I simply couldn’t say no.”
The winners in full are as follows:
● Leader of the Year, Sarah-Jane Lupton, A4E (Anglesey-based)
● Green Business of the Year, Penrallt Consulting (Conwy)
● Rachel Elnaugh Enterprise Award, Simon O’Rourke, Tree Carving (Wrexham)
● Corporate Social Responsibility Award, Bollywood Burnout (Colwyn Bay)
● Networking Person of the Year, Emma Lazarus-Stockdale (Wrexham)
● Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Jordan Barnes (Higher Kinnerton)
● Entrepreneur of the Year, Jo Beevers, Kokonoir (Broughton)
● Business Man of the Year, Alan “Travelboy” Hughes (Abergele)
● Business Woman of the Year, Amanda Daniels, Koogar (Wirral)
● Start Up Business of the Year, J&PR (Telford)
● Business of the Year, ACE Lifts (Sandycroft)
● Special Award – Host of the Year, Vicky Cutler, UW Authorised Distributor (Colwyn Bay)