Some 22 Queens Awards have been given to East Midlands businesses on the day the monarch marks her 96 th birthday.
Today’s recipients include a hot food display specialist, a disability consultancy, a metal recycling business and a company that makes equipment to help deaf people.
In all the region has collected seven awards for innovation, 13 for international trade and two for sustainable development. Two businesses, Imagesound, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and Peak NDT, in Jubilee Business Park, Derby, have received two awards.
Now in its 56th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the country.
Among the recipients is Leicestershire business insurance provider Qdos Contractor, which has won its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation award in five years.
The Rearsby-based broker, which was set up in 1988, has a team of 38 staff, the majority of whom are based in the Midlands. It was recognised for excellence in the tax compliance and insurance field.
Chief executive Seb Maley, said: “Being recognised for our commitment to innovation is testament to the talent and hard work of our outstanding team.
“This award – which is one of the UK’s most coveted business accolades – gives us further confidence to continue to invest in our people and technology, as we look to support the self-employed.”
Derbyshire-based Cosy Direct is also among the 226 organisations nationally to be recognised.
Based in the village of Fauld, near Tutbury, it sells ethically-sourced educational supplies to primary schools, councils and nurseries and has been given its award for sustainable development.
The business, which employs 100 people, was set up by husband-and-wife team Peter and Amanda Ellse in 2011, and moved to a new 45,000 sq ft warehouse on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border in 2021.
Mr Ellse said: “We are absolutely over the moon to have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Sustainability in what is Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee year.
“Cosy is one of the UK’s most exciting prospects when it comes to the educational resources industry – we’ve more than doubled in size over the last three years – and our community-minded ethos is something which we take great pride in.
“Sustainability and an ethical approach to business is important to us; we’re also proud to support charities and grassroots projects around the world – including right here in the Midlands.
“In 2002, we set up the Cosy Fund – now known as the Cosy Foundation – which sees a minimum of 10 per cent of profit made from the business donated to small table-top charities and voluntary organisations.
“We’re actively involved in the Langalanga Scholarship Fund, which supports the education of bright children from the impoverished area of the Rift Valley, around the town of Gilgil in Kenya. Over the last decade, Cosy have helped to create doctors, teachers and even a DJ.”
In Hinckley, Flexeserve has been given an innovation award for its heated display equipment which keeps food warm in shops, take-aways, cafes, coffee shops and other premises.
The business is part of The Alan Nuttall Partnership and the award will be formally presented at a reception hosted by The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace on July 12.
Chief executive Jamie Joyce said: “Winning this national award, recognised around the world, is overwhelming – it’s a dream come true for the business.
“This award is won by every single partner in the Flexeserve team, as well as our wider partnership and customers.
“This has been made possible by the belief of all these groups of people in our flagship product, Flexeserve Zone.”
