Partner Article

Aspire boss Nigel is Entrepreneur of the Year

THE managing director of one of the region’s leading IT companies has been named Entrepreneur of the Year at a prestigious business awards ceremony.

Nigel Begg, founder and MD of Gateshead-based Aspire, was given the honour in the coveted Insider Media Dealmaker Awards.

Praising the 12 award winners at a lavish awards night at the Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel Insider’s specialist publications editor Philip Cunliffe said they’d all displayed “professionalism, innovation and sheer tenacity.”

Nigel was thrilled to have won the award: “I’m absolutely delighted and very proud. I lead a great team of people who help make Aspire such an energetic, exciting and ambitious company, so I’d like to thank them for their amazing contributions to our success.

“Winning awards like this will help spur me and the company on to even greater success. It’s nice to get the recognition of the pace at which we’ve grown and the quality of our work we do with our valued clients,” he added.

Nigel worked in IT in London for 20 years before founding Aspire in 2006 with fellow director Chris Fraser. Since then the company has recorded year-on-year growth and currently employs more than 50 people. In February the company announced record results for the seventh consecutive year, with turnover increasing by 58% - to more than £6m. The company is on course to hit its £8m target for this current year.

Nigel is an active member of the Entrepreneur’s Forum, South Tyneside Manufacturing Forum and the wider regional business community.

Other winners on the night included Paul Mankin of PwC (Dealmaker of the Year), Robert Phillips of Muckle LLP (Corporate Lawyer of the Year) and FW Capital (Venture Capital of the Year). This year, for the first time, a panel was assembled by Insider to judge some of the categories. The panel comprised Paul Callaghan (chairman, The Leighton Group); Paul Woolston (chairman, North East LEP); and Chris McCourt (chief operating officer, North East Chamber of Commerce).

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