Wold Newton based Wold Top Brewery has been named as a Yorkshire & Humber winner of the GREAT Faces of British Business competition. The ‘Business is GREAT Britain’ campaign launched the competition in 2014, in association with BT Business, to find the most innovative and exciting UK businesses.
Named Best Growth Story in Yorkshire & Humber, Wold Top Brewery is now in the running to win the national competition and the top prize of £30,000 worth of government support. The winners will be decided by a combination of judging and public vote. You can vote for your GREAT business at www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition.
Gill Mellor, Director at Wold Top Brewery said:
“We’re thrilled to have been selected as a regional winner in the GREAT Faces of British Business competition. There’s a wealth of innovative small and medium-sized businesses out there and it’s great to be recognised as one of them by the competition. We would love to win the national award, so please show your support by voting for us on www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition.”
Wold Top Brewery was founded in 2003 and produces real ales from its own high quality home and Wolds-grown malting barley, combined with chalk filtered water from the farm’s borehole.
In its first year, Wold Top Brewery converted a barn into its microbrewery and production was 300 gallons per week, with no paid staff. In 2014, production is up to 4,300 gallons per week and in the next year, the brewery will increase in size by 150%.
Wold Top Brewery has won several awards for the quality of its beer including a coveted Three Star Gold Award at the Guild of Fine Foods Great Taste awards. It also won three awards for its green initiatives in 2013. New business with Sainsbury’s and Waitrose, together with a flourishing export order book has resulted in a 40% increase in sales year on year.
To find out more about the regional winners in the running for the national prize, visit www.greatbusiness.gov.uk/competition. With public voting making up 50 per cent of the final decision, your vote really does count. Voting will close on 23 February and the winner will be announced on 3 March.
The national competition consists of the regional winners from the three categories: best exporter, most innovative business, and best growth story. The grand prix winner, selected by a national judging panel, will also be announced in March. The prize includes a bespoke creative advertising campaign worth £30,000, along with an iPad Air and unlimited BT Wi-Fi for 12 months, courtesy of BT Business.
In addition, the winner will also receive a package of export support from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), which works with UK businesses to help them succeed in international markets and supports the Business is GREAT Britain campaign, with the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS).
Business Minister Matthew Hancock said:
“I’m delighted to see the GREAT Faces of British Business competition celebrating the small businesses up and down the country that form the bedrock of economic growth.
“Wold Top Brewery is a brilliant example of a successful small firm run by enterprising and hardworking people. We are backing them all the way and, with the advice and support on offer, there has never been a better time to start and grow a business in the UK.”
Steve Rathborne, Director of Sales, BT Business said:
“As an organisation, BT Business wants to help and support small businesses to succeed. Great Britain has a pedigree of producing innovative and successful businesses and leaders, and the regional winners that have been selected are proof that Great Britain is still producing these businesses. That’s why we’re supporting the Business is GREAT Britain campaign in order to discover and champion the entrepreneurial talent that’s out there and to give businesses an opportunity to boost their fortunes even further through a marketing package and business support from BT Business and UKTI.”
The Business is GREAT Britain campaign aims to celebrate and inspire small businesses and is run by BIS and UKTI. It provides relevant advice and information for small and medium sized enterprises looking to grow, hire, export, lead and access finance. There is a single place for all businesses to go for help: www.greatbusiness.gov.uk.
BT provides communications services to around 900,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and to over 6,500 corporate and public sector organisations in countries across the world.