Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Presented

Aquaread’s (UK) Managing Director Craig Harrison won the award for “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” at the Kent Excellence in Business Award ceremony.

“I am extremely proud and honoured to win this award” says Craig. “Getting recognition as an Entrepreneur for all my hard work is priceless. Growing and keeping Aquaread focused during the current economic climate is a challenge, which is what I love about what I do. I have been fortunate to have a great team behind Aquaread and without them we would not be where we are today as a Business.”

Aquaread were also shortlisted as a top 3 finalist for the Best Technology and Science Business of the Year.

More than 450 guests attended the event at the home of Gillingham Football Club, Priestfield stadium to recognise and celebrate the cream of Kent enterprise. The results were announced at a gala dinner, where winners were presented with special glass trophies.

Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Mark Dance, said: “I was delighted to see so many outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs last night. All of the entrants were of an extremely high standard and Kent has once again shown that it really is the place to do business. I want to send my heartfelt congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s KEiBA – and in particular to the exceptional and deserving winners.”

KEiBA aims to recognise and reward excellence in Kent and Medway businesses of all sizes as well as individual awards. It’s hoped that the awards will also boost staff morale and help attract new staff. Winning an award will help businesses raise their profile in Kent.

All of the entries went through a rigorous judging process, which rated entrants against pre-set criteria to select a shortlist for each category. The judges then visited the short-listed entrants to carry out a more in-depth investigation through face-to-face interviews before selecting the list of finalists.