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THE HULL AND EAST YORKSHIRE BUSINESS AWARDS

- By DAVID LAISTER

Fast Forward Vocational Training Ltd won the Growth Award The Soanes Poultry team won Large Business of the Year

A QUARTER of a century celebrating business success in Hull and East Yorkshire has been clocked up in fine style, with a clutch of winners from key sectors that have helped define the region.

The Hull and East Yorkshire Business Awards also recognised leading light Peter Brown as the latest recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. 2025 has seen him clock up 60 years at global logistics provider Neill and Brown, as the third generation leader of the family business.

“This means so much,’ he said, closing his address to his peers. “Our business started in 1917, it has been going a long time. We employ a lot of people, all from Hull and surrounding areas, and I don’t want to sell the business, I want to employ more people and keep the business going. It is a legacy. There aren’t many people that think like that, and whether I'm wrong or right, I’m not sure!”

It is the second year of the awards being in the stewardship of talent entrepreneur Simon Jones and events specialist Jane Smallwood, with legacy an important part of their work for the region too. Television presenter Gethin Jones - who revealed his own Hull business interest in the hosting DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel’s franchise operator, Leaf Hospitality - compered a spectacular evening, opened with a set by Howden-based indie rocker Fiona-Lee.

Then it was a hit parade of business achievement in front 500 of their peers.

David Hall, managing director of Beverley Leisure Homes, was named Entrepreneur of the Year, with his company triumphing in the Small Business category too. Having entered the world of work as an apprentice cabinetmaker at the age of 16, he went on to set up his first business at just 22. He now employs 46 staff, with five apprentices.