Last night (26 November 2015) the Newcastle Business Awards announced BeaconHouse Events as the New Business of the Year and quite frankly we were totally bowled over!

There was obviously a slight chance of us winning, we were shortlisted after all but the actual announcement saw us stumble our way to stage in a rather shell shocked state.

But why not? It’s been an incredible 18 months, we’ve been hugely overwhelmed by the support we’ve received regionally and nationally and we’ve exceeded all targets that we set for the company. We absolutely didn’t get here alone though and if we’d been invited to / been physically able to, we would have blubbed our thank yous out on stage. So, instead we’ll use this platform; our clients, all of them, the opportunities they give us and the referrals they make for us, our suppliers, our staff, our volunteers, our friends, our families (especially for all those initial facebook likes…), our landlords, our competitors and everyone in between.

Well done to all the nominees and winners from last night, the room was absolutely rammed and made us very proud to be a Newcastle business. Here’s to the next 6 months, bringing us to a round 2 years in business and hopefully many more opportunities to make fools of ourselves on stage at many more awards ceremonies.

Already, 2015 has seen us expand our annual events calendar from two events to 45, develop our bronze partnership with NGI, work with regional universities and colleges to create work experience opportunities, double our staff numbers and cement new client partnerships across the technology, private and public sector nationally.

The New Business of the Year category shortlists companies which have brought a new energy and vigour to their sector, creating a dynamic organisation which looks set to thrive for many years to come. Modest as we are, we know we’re up against strong competition. Newcastle has a lot to celebrate in terms of innovation and key achievements of businesses in our city.

The Newcastle Business Awards focus on community and sustainability, and growing businesses in Newcastle in a positive, sustainable way that benefits the area and those living within it – in terms of skills development, opportunities, community projects and job prospects. We’re delighted to be in such good company and have our fingers crossed.