The tenth annual Solent 250 Awards celebrated the achievements of the top privately-owned businesses (by turnover) headquartered in the Solent region.

Managing Director of The Business Magazine Richard Thompson said: “This year, Solent 250 businesses employed over 51,000 people and contributed significantly to the UK economy.”

The Solent 250 listing is compiled by The Business Magazine and sponsored by BDB Pitmans, CMA Recruitment Group, Evelyn Partners, HSBC UK, University of Southampton Business School and Vail Williams. Richard thanked the sponsors for “their participation and enthusiasm.”

Judging in the International Business of the Year category was so difficult that an additional Emerging British Brand award was added. And the quality of finalists in the Employer of the Year category was so high that joint winners were announced.

An inaugural Outstanding Contribution to the Solent Region Award was given this year. Fareham-based computing solutions provider Captec scooped the accolade.

The tenth annual Solent 250 Awards celebrated the achievements of the top privately-owned businesses (by turnover) headquartered in the Solent region.

Managing Director of The Business Magazine Richard Thompson said: “This year, Solent 250 businesses employed over 51,000 people and contributed significantly to the UK economy.”

The Solent 250 listing is compiled by The Business Magazine and sponsored by BDB Pitmans, CMA Recruitment Group, Evelyn Partners, HSBC UK, University of Southampton Business School and Vail Williams. Richard thanked the sponsors for “their participation and enthusiasm.”

Judging in the International Business of the Year category was so difficult that an additional Emerging British Brand award was added. And the quality of finalists in the Employer of the Year category was so high that joint winners were announced.

An inaugural Outstanding Contribution to the Solent Region Award was given this year. Computing solutions provider Captec scooped the accolade.

The event was held at the Harbour Hotel Southampton and the evening’s guest speaker was Stu Baker, Managing Director of Maritime UK Solent and Executive Director of the Solent Cluster.

He also emphasised the region’s significance to the UK economy, much of it linked to the maritime sector.

Maritime UK Solent champions the region’s success worldwide. It has strong links with the government and the Solent LEP. “Our role is in building a community to support economic growth. Economic clusters focus on what makes an area strong,” he said.

“It’s an aggregation of its assets – the people, infrastructure, businesses, research and knowledge that can come together to give it a competitive advantage. We have a massive array of assets in the Solent region.”

The Solent Cluster focuses specifically on the low-carbon economy. Its task is to bring businesses together to attract investment and share knowledge in the journey to net zero.

“The Solent Cluster has five or six anchor projects that could involve 70,000 jobs, with around 19,000 of them new jobs. One example is a hydrogen production project to generate blue hydrogen with carbon capture and storage capability in the region,” Stu explained.

In Dorset, the winners are:

Emerging British Brand of the Year – sponsored by HSBC UK

Winner: Gozney Group

“We make pizza ovens and it is a big worldwide market. It’s not just pizzas you can cook in them, but all kinds of meat and bread. Germany is one of our largest markets and we are also growing our business in the US. We have been able to get into some of the largest retailers out there, including Home Depot, and that’s seen us grow our brand and sales. An investment from Growth Partner UK has significantly helped us to tool up for newer products that we are launching. Our location in the Solent by the sea is great for the brand as well.” Jenny Barnard, Financial Controller, Gozney Group

Finalists in both the above two categories:

• Captec

• Dextra Group

• Gozney Group

• LeMieux

• Platinum Components

Market Innovator of the Year – BDB Pitmans

Winner: Lush Cosmetics

“I helped to develop our Bath Bot, a custom light, sound and colour experience for the bath. We designed the Bath Bot so we can take it apart and recycle it. As a vegan company, we didn’t use animal-based glue in its construction, as other waterproof speakers do. It is all-British engineering with proper e-waste capability – the opposite of throwing technology into the bin when you’re finished with it. It’s a very exciting product for us.” Jim Woodward, Senior Creative Technologist, Lush

Finalists:

• Airsys

• Captec

• Kortext

• Raymond Brown Quarry Products

• Williams Shipping