A BUSINESS leader has spoken of his delight at a record number of business in Lancashire receiving the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise 2020 – including five in the east of the county.

Simply Doughnuts, Blackburn; FPW Axles Ltd, Accrington; Orthoplastics Ltd, Bacup; Premier Tooling Systems Ltd, Altham; and Slingco Ltd, Whitworth, were among nine businesses in Lancashire to be given Royal Approval.

Steve Fogg, who chairs the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, said it is recognition of the innovative work being carried out in the county.

He said: "''The Queen's Awards are given for the highest degrees of excellence and are one of the most prestigious awards given to businesses. It is wonderful that a record-breaking eight Lancashire-based businesses have received the award this year.

''We have one award winner in the innovation category – Simply Doughnuts, based in Blackburn- who will have needed to demonstrate considerable commercial success as a result of innovation, and the other seven in the trade category from all parts of the county who will have had to show sustained year on year growth in international earnings. To win such an award is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the calibre of businesses we have in Lancashire. This is welcome news for the county and I would like to wish them every success for the future."

Scott Taylor, sales director at FPW, said "We are delighted to have won such a prestigious award. It is a reflection of all the hard work and innovation the company has achieved over the past five years in particular. It's an award for the whole company, all our employees have contributed and we couldn't have won it without each and everyone of them. It's really great news, at a time when good news is hard to come by."

Nick Dykins, Slingco Group managing director, comments: “We were incredibly grateful and honoured to win our first Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade four years ago and are doubly so today. A very special thank you must go to our employees and their families, this award being recognition of the hard work, dedication, and skills of our people. I also want to express our sincere gratitude to our loyal customer base and supply chain partners, without whose support this award would not have been possible.”