Family Business Awards crowns regional champions in front of capacity crowd

Family businesses from across the North West celebrated in spectacular style at the 2022 North West Family Business Awards at the Rum Warehouse in Liverpool’s iconic Titanic Hotel.

The city’s historic Stanley Docks was the setting for the sell out 2022 Awards, organised by The Family Business Community. The North West Family Business Awards celebrate family businesses of all sizes and sectors covering Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside.

A capacity crowd of over 400 gathered on the night to see the winners of the region’s best family businesses revealed, including representatives from over 60 family business finalists, plus judges, sponsors and event hosts Sue Howorth, Dave Clarkson and food writer and presenter, Nigel Barden.

The Awards opened with an energetic dance sequence from the Liverpool-based Leah McDonald School of Dance, which was followed by a three-course meal and lively entertainment from Lord of the Dance fiddler player, Richard Sanderson.

Organisers of the event, Sue Howorth and Dave Clarkson said, “we wanted this year’s awards to be something really special and we’re delighted with how it came together on the night. Our Awards is anything but a run of the mill business awards – it’s a celebration of the ecosystem that is family business!”

They added, “there was such an appetite for the Awards this year and the atmosphere and buzz in the room was electric. The week before, we had to close ticket sales as we’d completely sold out!”

“What was also nice this year was that over 80% of applicants were completely new to us, so it was great to meet lots of new family businesses and welcome them into our family business community”.

Among the winners was Chester-based Farrall’s Group, who won the Haulage and Logistics category before taking the crown of overall North West Family Business of the Year.

Matthew Farrall, Managing Director of Farrall’s Group commented, “we were so honoured to have won the Haulage & Logistics award and then to have been chosen as this year’s overall winners - to say we are over the moon is an understatement!”

He added, “I am so proud to work alongside my family and to continue my Grandad’s vision for Farrall’s Group. We have great support from our team who work day in, day out to offer our customers exceptional service and allow us to sustainably grow.

“These awards are all down to their hard work, determination and the pride they take in their roles. It isn’t easy to build a team of fantastic individuals who you can trust to represent your family name, but we are incredibly lucky to have a team who embodies our family values to the core.”

The twenty-strong team of Awards judges had a difficult task, with a large number of high quality entries from across the North West region. Collectively they also chose their own winner for the special Judges Award, announced on the night as Lancashire firm, Mantle Packaging.

In addition to the main categories, the People’s Choice awards invited nominations for finalists from the public, and this year over 15,000 votes were placed for finalists across the five counties, as well as a further 4,500 votes for the Employee of the Year category won by Michelle Mooney of G&J Shuttleworth in Morecambe.

The Cumberland were pleased to be a sponsor of this year's event. Martin Rankin, Commercial Business Development Manager commented, “we’re pleased to have played a part in making sure our region’s family businesses receive the recognition they deserve. The event was a real celebration of family business values and ethos”.

Dave Clarkson of the North West Family Business Awards added, “we’d like to thank all our judges and events team for their incredible hard work, our sponsors for their support and to everyone who entered the awards this year!”

For more information about the awards and winners, visit the NWFBA website.