Partner Article

Becketts Farm backs Awards’ new Employer category

South Birmingham multi-award winning fourth generation family business Becketts Farm is the sponsor of a new 2014 Midlands Family Business Awards’ category that will find the best family business employer in the region.

Becketts Farm is sponsor of the Employer of the Year category, continuing its relationship with the Awards which began in 2012, when Becketts was crowned the Midlands Family Business of the Year, and last year saw MD Simon Beckett on the judging panel for the Leading Adviser Award.

“The Employer of the Year Award has been introduced with the aim of recognising the Midlands’ family businesses which put their people at the heart of their organisation,” explains Charlotte Perkins, MD of The Wilson Organisation, which organises the Midlands Family Business Awards.

“Employing 115 people, Becketts Farm is one of the largest employers in the local area and we know it prides itself on supporting its staff and the local community to ensure their futures progress in tandem. This commitment to staff and their development makes Becketts an excellent, highly relevant partner for the brand new Employer of the Year category. We are indebted to all our sponsors, and delighted that Becketts is joining us as a sponsor this year.

“As a former Award winner and judge, Becketts have truly seen the Awards from all angles,” adds Charlotte, “so they know and understand the Awards, which are not-for-profit and the only independent initiative in the Midlands to recognise the work and activities of the regions family businesses.”

Adrian Beckett, Marketing Manager at Becketts says: “Throughout our history, we have remained committed to creating and maintaining a positive, familial relationship with all our staff, many of whom have been with us for a substantial time. We have a policy of encouraging and supporting new entrants into the business, training youngsters in the art of bakery and butchery for example. We feel this commitment to being a supportive, fair and open-minded employer makes us well-placed to sponsor, and judge, the Awards’ new Employer of the Year category.”

Entries for all ten categories in the 2014 Awards are free and can be made via the Awards’ website: www.familybusinessawards.co.uk until midnight on the 14th July 2014. Family businesses of any size, sector or specialism can enter up to three categories. For help with choosing a category and entering the Awards, contact Wilsons’ Ped Briggs, Tel: 0115 942 0111, email: pbriggs@wilorg.com.

Becketts Farm is a constantly evolving agri-business and has been farming in the south Birmingham area for almost 80 years. Starting in dairy farming in 1937, activities expanded during the 1960s when it developed into a leading mass egg production specialist.

Recent diversification has resulted in Becketts’ current core business in fresh food retail. Its Wythall site comprises an award-winning Farm Shop and Family Restaurant, conference and meeting facilities, and The Orange Kitchen Cookery School, which runs a variety of courses for budding and more accomplished chefs. Becketts was voted the Midlands Best Farm Shop by the Good Food Show last year.

2014 is the fifth year for the not-for-profit, independent Awards, and this year they are raising funds for The Outward Bound Trust, the educational charity for young people. Since their launch in 2010, the Awards have raised in the region of £20,000 for charities supporting young people and enterprise.

The full line-up of 2014 Award sponsors is Smith Cooper, headline sponsor for the fourth consecutive year, Barclays, Crouch Logistics, PwC, Shakespeares, Unum, Premium Credit, Thomas Miller Investment and First Actuarial.

The Wilson Organisation provides innovative insurance and financial solutions to businesses and individuals both regionally and nationally. For more information, visit: www.wilorg.com, or Tel: 0115 942 0111.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Midlands Family Business Awards .