A FAMILY deli in Pershore tasted success at the first ever Worcestershire Business Awards.

Deli@Pershore, which is run by husband and wife team Craig and Rachael Etherington from premises in the town's High Street, took two top awards, growth business and High Street business.

Mr EtherIngton said: "To win the two awards was just the icing on the cake of what has been a fantastic couple of years. We couldn’t have done it without the support of our family and friends, but as important are our staff where we have built up a great hard working team of eight. We would also like to thank our customers for their support since we opened and for the community of Pershore for welcoming our family with open arms.

"We opened the deli two years ago, with the purpose of providing excellent customer service and top quality food. With those two key principles and a lot of hard work we have doubled the business coming through the shop and added many new catering clients. One of which is Abbey Park First school, where we provide over 100 freshly made school meals every day.

"But we’re not resting on our laurels as we are due to open 'The Cafe@Wychavon' based in the civic centre in Pershore. The café will open on December 15 and we couldn’t be more excited."

Other Business Award winners were Bubblicious Soaps of Droitwich, which won creative business, Greengineering Ltd of Kidderminster, ethical trading business, The Sunday Girl Company Ltd also of Kidderminster, most innovative business and Seven Mile Cookery & Events of Redditch, which was new start up business.

The event, at Sixways Stadium in Worcester, was a celebration of Enterprising Worcestershire, a free programme of business support provided by Worcestershire County Council in partnership with the local district councils and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. After receiving 45 nominations, the shortlist and winners were decided by a panel of five judges and public vote, which attracted more than 1,000 votes.

There was a keynote speech by David Hyner, director of Stretch Development Ltd, and 150 guests had the opportunity to network with more than 20 Worcestershire businesses exhibiting at the event’s Marketplace.

Cllr Simon Geraghty, Worcestershire County Council cabinet member for economy, skills and infrastructure, said: “It was a great night and the awards were a fitting way to celebrate the success of not just the businesses themselves, but the Enterprising Worcestershire programme, which in just two years has attracted nearly 2,000 enquiries, given pre-start support to over 900 individuals and 359 newly established businesses, helping to create 180 new businesses and over 200 new jobs. Enterprising Worcestershire has pledged to support a further 250 newly established businesses over the next 12 months, so we want to hear from anyone who is considering self-employment or has already started a business that is less than two years old.”

Businesses must be trading less than two years and ERDF eligibility applies; for more information call Worcestershire Business Central on 0300 123 1440.

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