Burden Bros Agri Ltd Are Crowned 2019’s Swale Business of the Year

Written by Wesley Horan on 20th October 2019

2019’s Swale Business of the Year has been announced – Burden Bros Agri Ltd. The business picked up the coveted award at a packed Awards Ceremony, which took place at the Kent Event Centre on Friday 18th October.

Burden Bros Agri’s win is especially impressive, considering that 2019 saw a record number of entrants into the awards. In total, 52 businesses from across the borough of Swale entered the awards, with the judging panel whittling this down to 23 finalists. Burden Bros Agri was then declared the overall winner, netting them a winner’s cheque for £1,000.

The judge’s commented on Burden Bros Agri: “The judges were very impressed with the continued progress of Burden Bros Agri and their innovative approach to challenging some long standing industry 'norms'. The business benefits from an impressive senior management team whom have established a very strong and focussed business culture. There is a clear vision of where the business is heading; and also the actions and milestones that they need to achieve to get there. The success of Burden Bros Agri really is based on the collective drive and desire of the whole team. The enthusiasm and commitment of the senior management is infectious and the judges can't wait to see the future progress of this truly impressive business.”

Sally Heathfield, Group HR Manager of Burden Bros Group spoke about how she felt collecting the award on behalf of the business: “It felt absolutely amazing – winning was down to the commitment and achievement of our staff, and the hard work and dedication that they have put in over the last twelve months. The process was really good and gave everybody a chance to focus and understand what areas we wanted to focus on and develop as a business.”

In total 273 guests from businesses throughout Swale and across Kent attended the Gala Dinner, which was presided over by KMFM’s Nicola Everett and included entertainment from band Marylebone Jelly as well as entertainment from magicians and blackjack and roulette tables.

There was also a charity raffle, which included prizes donated by local businesses including a gorgeous Estrella Mirror from Gallery Direct; a delicious Chocolate Hamper from Invicta Financial Group and a Magnum of Champagne from Thomson Snell and Passmore. The charity raffle raised £1,225 for Kent Air Ambulance and Sheerness Lifeboat.

Burden Bros Agri was not the only winners on the evening. Other winners were:

• Swale Small Business of the Year - The Oast Osteopathy

• Customer Service and Commitment Award - Kedoo Optical

• Impact in the Community - Queenborough Harbour CIC

• Employer of the Year - Tribeca Technology Group

• Entrepreneur of the Year – Giedre Brandao of AbBaltis

• Judges’ Special Award - Lorenden Prep School

• Faversham Business of the Year - Saxon Shore Estate Agents

• Sheppey Business of the Year – Elmley Nature Reserve

• Sittingbourne Business of the Year – Kayo Digital

View pictures of the winners here.

Claire Lloyd, Owner of The Oast Osteopathy was delighted that her business picked up the Swale Small Business of the Year Award. She said: “It felt amazing to win, I did not expect to. We do the job we do because we love what we do and we were totally bowled over to have won. If anyone who was thinking about entering next year I would say ‘just do it!’ The whole thing has been an amazing experience, even just to come along on the night. We’ve been along to other nights in the past and we haven’t won, but it is always a great night for networking and having a fantastic time.”

The Swale Business Awards are only possible due to the generous support of our sponsors, all of whom are local businesses keen to give something back to the local community. Sponsorship remains an outstanding way to raise the profile of your business in the local business community. If you would like to help make the 2020 awards a reality, please email sponsors@swalebusinessawards.co.uk.

Handelsbanken and Swale Means Business are the principal sponsors of the 2019 Swale Business Awards. The Swale Business Awards are also sponsored by C & D Logistics South East, CS One Design, Enterprise Centres, George Webb Finn, Invicta Financial Group, Kent Event Centre, Kent Science Park, Shepherd Neame, Sheppey College, Swale Borough Council, Thomson Snell & Passmore, UHY Hacker Young, Unipet International, University of Greenwich and William Whitmey Independent Funeral Directors.

View the full gallery of pictures from the night here.