Published: June 28, 2024 | Updated: 1st July 2024
The Poole Business Awards returned for their fourth year, celebrating the best and brightest of the local area.
Picking up the sought-after ‘Overall Business of the Year’ was business advisory firm Evolve, which also took home the Gold ‘B2B Business of the Year Award’.
Working with both the private sector and public organisations, Evolve’s core service is guiding and advising businesses on starting, growing and exiting – supporting both leaders and their teams.
Since being founded by entrepreneur Warren Munson in 2020, Evolve has offered funded support initiatives to more than 400 businesses.
Warren accepted the accolade from the Poole Business Awards’ headline sponsor, the West Dorset office of ActionCOACH, which helps businesses grow by introducing operational efficiency and skillful sales and marketing strategies.
B2B firms Inspiration Agency and Total Boardroom Network picked up silver in that category.
In the hospitality sector, Restaurant Thirteen took home the Gold in ‘Restaurant of the Year’, while SALT CØ took home the win in the ‘Cafe, Pub or Casual Dining’ category.
The latter also took home one of two Silvers in the ‘My Favourite Business’ category, which sees local residents asked to nominate the businesses they love in and around Poole. Over the Moon won the other Silver, while Canvas and Dreams was awarded the Gold.
Other winners on the day included recruitment companies Talent Drive and Jigsaw Specialist Recruitment, while Community winners were Forest Holme Hospice, Home-Start Wessex and the Parkstone Business Networking Group for their support for the business community.
The Customer Service Gold award went to specialist web designers Brown Booth, while Silver awards went to Beauty Sculpting Room and Your Man With a Van.
Charles Trent won Family Business of the Year, with new business Goodknight Property Management celebrating Silver. Owner of the latter, Leana Knight was also voted Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Other young winners were Mia Abel from legal firm Trethowans, who was voted Rising Star; winner of New Business of the Year, Abbie Jackson, who runs children’s pop-up soft play company Over the Moon; and First Aid South Training owner Fiona Revill, who won an award in the independent business category.
Other entrepreneurial winners included Polygon Pets, for the self-service dog washes, and the previously mentioned luxury event & party planners Canvas and Dreams.
One judge commented: “This is the fourth year of the Poole awards, with more entries than ever.
“It’s such an honour to do this judging and discover so many diverse businesses with creative, entrepreneurial and hardworking owners.
“At the awards we saw fantastic independent companies that are the backbone of the UK economy and play such an important part in the local one too.”
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