IT was a case of third time lucky for the company which won Business of the Year, the evening's most prestigious prize.

Marketing company MDA Ltd, which has been highly commended in the Business of the Year category for the past two years, finally went one better winning the award.

The accolade capped off a wonderful year for the company which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

MDA, based in Blackburn, designs and produces promotional material and point of sale displays.

Products can range from anything from pens, badges, posters to giant parasols for pub beer gardens and smoking shelters.

Its clients include Inbev which produces of lagers and beers including Stella Artois and Boddingtons, as well as Coca Cola, Barclays, Cadbury, Warburtons.

Another long-term client Gala Coral, which recently signed a £1million contract with MDA, had representatives present at the event.

Ian Stead, chief executive, said: "This is a fantastic reward for all the employees and such an accolade proves we are a big part of East Lancashire business.

"It is more of the same in the next year and these are exciting times for MDA.

"We have got plans for MDA and are trying to attract a number of top everyday brands.

"The business is going to grow in value to £30million in the next three years."

MDA was founded in Blackpool in 1987 by Michael Davies who employed a handful of staff.

In the early 1990s it moved to Blackburn buying a warehouse in Queen Victoria Street.

In 2002 the company was re-launched with an aggressive growth strategy and it has not looked back since. MDA now has five warehouses on the same site including a new £5million warehousing development which is the UK's biggest single site for developing branded marketing products.

In one of the most difficult categories to decide a winner, the judging panel was impressed with the fact the company had never lost a client in its history.

While some companies connected with the hospitality trade have struggled following the introduction of the smoking ban in July, MDA seized the opportunity to grow business.

It has boosted trade by at least £500,000 designing and distributing goods to pubs, clubs and casinos.

Products included thousands of no smoking signs, 10,000 windbreak panels to build smoking shelters and 2,500 four-metre square parasols for beer gardens called 'jumbrellas.' Other landmarks achieved by MDA in the past 12 months also include playing a key role in the UK launch of Trident chewing gum in February.

The launch was Cadbury's biggest marketing campaign for years with MDA helping to distribute branded point of sale materials.