Birmingham Post Business Awards
19 October 2017NEC Group CEO Paul Thandi was awarded the coveted Business Entrepreneur of the Year title at last night’s Birmingham Post Business Awards, whilst the Group’s hospitality provider, Amplify, came out on top in the Sales and Marketing category.
The awards, held in front of more than 600 guests at the ICC, were hosted by Olympic badminton medallist Gail Emms MBE and comedian Mark Dolan and celebrated the best businesses in the city which have delivered success for themselves, their staff and their customers.
The Group’s accolades follow the recent announcement of the latest NEC Group financials which reported revenue of £157.7m for the year to 31 March 2017, up £23.9m (17.9%) on the previous year. Reported EBITDA for the trading businesses (including valuation gains on investment properties of £2.6m) was £50.4m, up £18.6m (58%) on the underlying position for the previous year.
NEC Group CEO Paul Thandi said: “We’ve made huge progress in the last 12 months and winning awards such as these is recognition of those efforts.
“Our recently announced financial results provide evidence of an exceptional year, but such results are only possible because we have great people delivering great things across the NEC Group and as CEO, I’m proud to lead this business.
“Our continued growth allows us to invest in our offer further, try new things and bring on board new partners such as Merlin - a world leader in visitor attractions - to our two current campuses at the NEC and city centre. Most of all, it allows us to continue to develop our people and ensure they have what they need to deliver the best customer experience and service within the markets we serve.”
Sally Walder, Amplify General Manager, said: “We’re constantly striving to deliver an exceptional service for our clients, and I’m proud that our efforts have been recognised by the wider Birmingham business community. Amplify has experienced impressive growth in recent times, and through our creative and proactive approach to attracting business, have established a strong and loyal membership base. Looking ahead, we have many plans in place to drive this success even further and ensure the Amplify customer experience remains best-in-class.”
Birmingham Post editor-in-chief Marc Reeves said: ""All of our winners deserved their place on the stage and it was heartening to read again so many submissions highlighting the innovation and business excellence which prevails across Birmingham and the West Midlands."