Stratford trophy company named Best Rural Family Business

One of the UK’s leading companies in the design and manufacture of trophies, awards, medals and plaques, Special EFX of Stratford-upon-Avon, has been named the Best Rural Family Business, in the Midlands only Awards initiative for family businesses and their leaders.

Special EFX has won the Rural Family Business of the Year category, sponsored by law firm Roythornes, in the Midlands Family Business Awards.

The company picked up the trophy at a prestigious dinner at Birmingham’s Town Hall on the 17th November in front of an audience of more than 300 guests.

The Rural Family Business of the Year category is one of ten in the Midlands Family Business Awards. Now in their second year, the Awards are run by The Wilson Organisation and are a not-for-profit venture, with all proceeds going to charities supporting young enterprise and young people - The Children’s Society and The Willow Foundation.

"This is a new award for 2011," explains category judge Mark Fielding of Roythornes, "in recognition of the key role family businesses play in many areas of the rural economy. We were looking for a well-structured family business that derived clear benefits from their rural locations, as well as evidence of how the business contributes to its communities."

Special EFX is led by its founders the Osborne family, who have grown it into a high value, niche specialist in bespoke awards and trophies. The company is widely acclaimed for its design talent, cutting edge manufacturing technology and customer service, and produces thousands of awards each year for hundreds of UK and international customers. All design is undertaken at the company’s studio, manufacturing and assembly facility at its Ettington Park headquarters, on the outskirts of Stratford. It works with local creative and design agencies, law firms and public sector organisations, as well as global giants such as Google.

Runners-up in the Rural Family Business of the Year category were Limes Farm in Northamptonshire, and Woodside Lodges of Ledbury, Herefordshire.

Limes Farm has been in the Deeley family on its current site for more than 200 years. Its current custodians took over the farm in 2008 from Nicky Deeley’s father John, at which time it was a traditional working farm. The husband and wife team quickly realised diversification would be key to Limes Farm’s survival, so created a new family farm to ensure it became a viable business for subsequent generations. The new infrastructure of the business, adds three revenue streams – school meals supplied to eight local primary schools; Limes Farm Shop which has grown to become regarded as a fantastic local asset; and a range of home made jams, pies, bread and cakes supplied to local cafes and restaurants.

Woodside Lodges has ten Scandinavian Lodges, which cater for the top end of the country cottage holiday market. The site also has facilities for touring caravans, a campsite and hostel accommodation. Particularly popular with walking and cycling enthusiasts, Woodside Lodges has a tangible commitment to preserving and enhancing the surrounding environment as a conservation area, providing a wild flower and natural woodland area, encouraging an abundance of wildlife. It recently planted 500 native trees and has been awarded the David Bellamy Gold Award for conservation for the past six years.

The headline category in the Awards – The Midlands Family Business of the Year – was won by Nottinghamshire-based Herbert Baggaley Construction Limited and at the Awards’ dinner, the company’s Managing Director Ian Baggaley accepted the Award from Chris Taylor of Smith Cooper, headline sponsor of the 2011 Awards, and Charlotte Perkins, managing director of Wilsons. Judges for the headline category were Chris Taylor, Mark Samworth of Leicestershire family business Samworth Brothers and Wilsons’ Gary Cormack and Annabel Prow.

Runners-up in the headline Award were Derbyshire’s C W Sellors and Salts Healthcare of Aston, Birmingham.