Dan McGuire, MD of Broadbean Technology was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the Growing Business Awards, organised by the CBI and Real Business magazine, last Wednesday evening.



John Caudwell, the telecoms billionaire and founder of Phones4U, presented Dan with the prize that celebrates heightened ambition, energy, skill and vision in entrepreneurs under the age of 30.

Only last month Broadbean, who were also finalists in the "Innovative Company" category were crowned ATSCo Innovator of the Year and ranked the UK's 27th fastest growing technology firm by Deloitte. McGuire, 26, who has achieved growth of over 1300%* in 5 years was highly commended in the Lifetime Achievement category at the London and South East Recruitment Awards and recently featured in the Observer's list of the top 50 rising stars in business.

Commenting on his success, he said "I'm absolutely delighted. There are not many awards I could win in my entire career that have the same magnitude as this; and to accept it in front of my team and so many of Britain's most successful entrepreneurs made it all the more special. This is as much an award for everyone at Broadbean as it is for me because without the hard work, dedication and passion of my team I wouldn't be in the position I'm in today."

Kate Pritchard, Managing Editor of Real Business magazine, predicts "McGuire's going to be a very busy Bean in the future … but if his track record is anything to go by, we can expect great things."

McGuire faced a panel of judges including Sir Chris Evans, Chairman of Merlin Biosciences, and the notorious entrepreneurs Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones from
BBC's Dragons' Den before receiving the honour. He added "Broadbean is still growing at 100% every year and the online recruitment market is more buoyant than ever. Winning this award shows that the online recruitment industry is mature and to be taken seriously. It is something every company must embrace and should be integral to the recruitment process regardless of size. Hopefully this award will help to raise the profile of the industry as a whole, and Broadbean specifically, as we launch our operations in Europe and the US next year."

The Awards, which have been recognising entrepreneurial achievement since 1999, were held at the London Marriott. The ceremony, hosted by impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner, was attended by some of biggest names in business
including Cafe Nero's Gerry Ford, James Caan, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and Entrepreneur of the Year Simon Nixon of MoneySupermarket.com.

*Deloitte Fast 500