In a glittering ceremony in London last night, the former Leader of the Opposition, William Hague, presented Huntress Chairman, Gary Laurence, with the ultimate accolade in the CBI-sponsored, 2005 Growing Business Awards, the UKís ëEntrepreneur of the Yearí.
Last year, Chancellor Gordon Brown referred to the Growing Business Awards as the business equivalent of The Oscars and this yearís event was chaired by Sir Digby Jones, Director General of the CBI and attended by many of the UKís most talented and accomplished entrepreneurs and politicians - including Stelios Haji-Ioannou from the Easy Group, Phones 4Uís John Caudwell and David Willetts, the Shadow Secretary of State.
Huntress Search ñ which is Gary Laurenceís third start-up company ñ is acknowledged as the ìUKís most exciting, innovative and fast growing specialist recruitment groupî. The company, which now has five focus areas - Office, PR & Marketing, Accountancy & Finance, IT and Executive Search - has achieved incredible year-on-year sales and profit growth since its inception in 2000 and now has an annual turnover in excess of 60m.
And ëUK Company of the Yearí finalist
In addition to Gary Laurenceís personal success, Huntress itself was also a finalist in the ëUKís Company of the Yearí category and, therefore, credited on the night with more accolades than any other company.
In the course of the competition, Gary Laurence and Huntress were scrutinised over a period of several months by a panel of nine judges - all recognised figures of industry - through a series of interviews, referencing and examination of financial performance.
Accepting the award, Gary Laurence stressed that it was a fitting tribute to the employees and directors at Huntress - in particular the founders who had taken an equal risk five years ago joining him to launch the company. He saluted their courage and faith in pursuing a vision that has now become a reality.
Commenting on the award, Gary Laurence added: ìThis accolade reflects our absolute focus on delivering professional and innovative consultancy services - including many added-value differentiators - to keep us ahead of our competitors. Throughout the last five years we have worked hard to balance creativity with financial prudence ñ creating a business model which works in good times and bad.î
Huntress Chairman is the UKs Entrepreneur of the Year
William Hague presented Huntress Chairman, Gary Laurence, with the ultimate accolade in the CBI-sponsored, 2005 Growing Business Awards
